What a month! February started out with the same crappy weather we’ve been experiencing all winter. Fortunately, the past couple of weeks have seen a bit of a turnaround, at least for me.

It started on February 21st when I popped out an email to a couple of guys to see if anyone was interested in lunch at Lacombe. Barry and Joel said they were, and that Joel was planning to bring along his toddler daughter as well. The weather was beautiful so off we went. I decided to take a few pictures of my brother-in-law’s cabin on Gull Lake which ended up timing my arrival in Lacombe just minutes behind Barry and Joel.

However, I heard a few more familiar voices on the radio also heading to Lacombe. It turns out that the Calgary Flying Club also decided to aim their Saturday Sortie at Lacombe. The final tally was 12 aircraft and 31 flyers at the Boston Pizza for lunch. Aircraft ranged from my little Christavia up to a DHC-2 Beaver on amphibs! What a great day!!!

Last weekend was, of course, the annual dinner and auction. We used to opportunity to plan yet another trip. Brian Vasseur recently sold his Rans to a buyer in Medicine Hat. The original plan was to fly down with him and give him a lift home. Due to the cold temperatures, that plan was changed to a flight to Three Hills for lunch. Fortunately, I contacted the rest of the group at Chestermere before I got past Strathmore, otherwise I would still be in Medicine Hat waiting for them.

This past Monday I got to do one of my favourite things while flying (No, not that!) … I got to introduce someone to the world of light airplanes. One of my fellow students had made it through 32 years without experiencing flight in a light airplane. He works for a helicopter company in Canmore and has flown in them, but it’s just not the same. He had a great time. With Daylight Savings Time coming into effect this evening, I hope to be able to take more fellow students for an ab initio flight.

Speaking of students, class has been going very well. I recently received my second scholastic award and was asked to be valedictorian. Yeah, I know, I’m a keener.

One of the more interesting classes we’ve been doing is on autopilots. This is coming at a great time as I’m just starting to plan out the avionics and instrumentation for the Buttercup. Having done a number of long cross countries over the past few years, an autopilot is definitely in my future.

Basically, there are three systems to consider. First, is the simple single axis or wing leveler. In addition to keeping the plane level in roll, it will also steer to a selected heading. In this case, Pitch is set using trim.

Second is the two-axis system. In this case, the roll control is the same as the wing leveler, but pitch control is added for holding altitude. In most cases, a trim servo is also installed to control pitch trim and eliminate the continuous force needed to hold a pitch attitude.

The third system is the same as above but includes a yaw dampener. Funny enough, I’ve heard the term yaw dampener for years and just assumed it was some sort of shimmy dampener installed on the tail. It turns out that a yaw dampener is simply the yaw control portion of the autopilot. However, on many large aircraft, the yaw dampener is always engaged whether the autopilot is on or not. It’s required to control dutch roll instability and, on some aircraft, is a no-go item if it’s not functioning.

For the Buttercup, I’ll be going with a two-axis autopilot. At this point, I haven’t decided whether I should go with a dedicated autopilot like the TruTrak or use the autopilot built into an EFIS system like Dynon or Advanced Flight Systems. I’ll likely be picking Troy’s brain on that one.

In addition to flying this month, I’ve been hard at the Buttercup project as well. I know that Troy will be disappointed with this, but it was May of 2008 since I logged any time on her; so much for working a couple of hours a day. However, I had good excuses. I spent most of the summer flying or working on the cabin. Last fall was an extremely busy month with schoolwork and weekends at the lake and Christmas was mostly spent at the lake. However, the lake project is nearing completion, and I’ve dusted off the Buttercup plans and gotten back to work.

I’ve been working on both the fuselage and the wings at the same time. I prefer doing the metal work in the warm months when I can open the garage door and get rid of some of the fumes associated with grinding and welding. Woodworking is done in the cold months. The last time I worked on the wings I had just completed the wing rib jig and had manufactured (cut) all the bits and pieces for the ribs. This included cap strips, uprights, diagonals and most of the gussets.

I had found an article on the web that described how to build a “high tech wing rib jig” using Lexan. Apparently, T-88 epoxy will not adhere to it making it a great jig material. I built the jig so that I could clamp all the gussets on rather than nailing.

One issue I had not addressed was a modification suggested by Earl Luce (the designer) that the leading-edge flaps be eliminated. The original design has the entire leading edge held in place with two 3/16” bolts. Although adequate for the 100 hp O-200, this feature will limit the VNE for the O-320 power plant I plan to install. This meant a slight redesign of the ribs to include a nose block. I designed one of ½” ply that glues to the forward spar upright and attaches to the upper and lower capstrips. This allowed me to glue the capstrips to the nose block before laying up the rib in the jig eliminating the need for steaming the capstrips.

Of course, this makes rib building a three-part exercise. First, the capstrip and nose blocks are assembled. Next, the rib is built up in the jig with the gussets attached to one side. Once the rib is out of the jig, the gussets are attached to the other side.

As production has progressed, I have been doing step one and three on one evening and step two on the second. This means I’m turning out one rib every two days. I could go faster, but I keep running out of clamps. Currently I’m up to rib 8 of 22. If all goes well, I should have the wings completed this spring.

If you hadn’t noticed, the calendar is certainly filling up with events. There are a few big ones on the horizon for our club including the Rust Remover in April, Bob Kirkby’s event in July and the COPA Convention in mid-July. Stu Simpson is planning a group trip to Seattle in early June and I’m sure that Glenn Bishell will be scheduling his event soon (usually around Father’s Day). If you see something I haven’t included, please drop me an e-mail.

One last item I’d like to mention… I’m out of articles again. Please help out by putting pen to paper (bytes to Word?) and telling us about what you’re building, what you’re flying, interesting flying stories, or any other aviation related articles.

See you on Thursday!