G£A/CP/U ARRANGE ME fJr 'FLY BABY" SPECIFICATIONS Wing span Length Height (folded) Tail span ....... Wing chord .... Wing area ... Empty weight . . . 28 ft. 18 ft. 101/2 in. 6 ft. 11 in. 7 ft. 111/2 in. 4 ft. 6 in. . .... 120 sq. ft. 605 Ibs. Gross weight ........ 925 Ibs. Fuel ...... 12-16 gals. Power ...... 65-85 hp Cruising speed ...... 110-115 mph Rate of climb 850-1100 fpm Construction ........ All wood Airfoil . . . . . . . NACA 4412 SPORT AVIATION 13
"FLY BABY" . . . (Continued from page 12) structure and performance in fourth place, and the Eaves' folding-wing "Cougar" fifth. During the conference that the judges had with each contestant, they told us how they would evaluate the setit-up-to-fly operation. <strong>The</strong>y emphasized that any number of people could help, but that the penalty would be proportional. I had never set up or folded "<strong>Fly</strong> <strong>Baby</strong>" all alone, and in fact, had folded it only a couple of times since the 1960 meet, but figured that points-wise, it would be best to do it alone. I went to the nearest hardware store and bought a broomstick. Rudy sawed off the round end, drilled each end, and presssed in a long 3/16 in. bolt with the head cut off. We then drilled a 3/16 in. hole part way into each wing tip bow so the broomstick could be used as a no-slip crutch to hold the wingtip up when the landing wires were slacked off. <strong>The</strong> first "solo" set-up was the one I did for the judges, and from getting out of the car, through untieing, off the trailer, set-up, and ready for flight was 20 minutes. With a bit of practice and less time spent on explaining details, I could cut it down to 15, I'm sure. Folding goes much more quickly. Incidentally, to explain how all those 16 wires on the wing are slacked off without undoing all the turnbuckles, there is a single turnbuckle running across the top of the main fuselage bulkhead. This is slacked off, and then four pins are pulled where the wires above and below each panel converge. Well, enough of history. How does it fly? Darn well, in the opinion of the judges, who seemed to agree that this was the ship's strong point in spite of flying it in the "Maximum Dirty" configuration with no aileron seals or wing-fuselage gap covers, and with "<strong>The</strong> Bomb" in place. Adding the gap covers reduced landing speed by 2 mph through improved airflow over the tail and the aileron seals (plain masking tape) improved the rate of roll noticeably. Since they had said that anyone who could handle a J-3 "Cub" would have no trouble with it, my 18-year-old son David, a student power pilot with 45 hours, 30 in gliders (private license), and 7 l /z each in Aeronca C-3 and Piper J-3, used the advance copy of the judges' magazine article to pound me over the head with until I let him fly it. On his second time up in it he went over Mt. Rainier at 15,000 ft. and the next day took it X-C. Performance numbers don't mean much unless qualified with supporting information. With the 74-43 prop on the original 75 hp engine, it cruised 105 mph at 2150 rpm, the engine being effectively a 65 because of the prop. It has exactly the same cruise speed with the present 85 engine and a 71-48 climb prop turning 2350. Changing to a 71-51 ups the cruise speed to 115, but chops over 150 fpm off the rate of climb. With the 71-51 prop, climb from take-off is 1100 fpm at 2300 rpm and 75 mph IAS. Take-off with this prop is real short, especially if you keep the tail low. I've never actually measured the run, but it's short enough to please anyone. You're about 10 feet in the air, or so it seems, about the time the tail would just be coming up in a 65 hp "Cub" or a Cessna 140. Time to 4,000 ft. is five minutes, and to 8,000 ft. is 12 minutes. Times were not taken above that altitude because maximum efficiency could not be achieved without operating mixture control. "<strong>Fly</strong> <strong>Baby</strong>" has been to 15,000 ft. with both the old engine-prop combination and the present 85 with climb prop, and with the latter shown between 300 and 400 fpm on the rate-of-climb indicator at 10,000 ft. It's hard to get accurate airspeed readings at both 14 DECEMBER 1962 Airborne in the "NEW <strong>Fly</strong> <strong>Baby</strong>" before getting the name painted on or trying out "<strong>The</strong> Bomb". Main problem in getting good flight photos near Seattle is lining up available photographer, camera plane, AND sunny weather! ends of the scale, so the high speeds were timed over measured courses while landing speeds were checked by a car running alongside during landing. <strong>The</strong>re was too much difference between various airplanes we tried formation flying with for that to provide any sort of check at all. Some read higher and some lower for a given throttle setting on "<strong>Fly</strong> <strong>Baby</strong>". Landing speed without the gap covers is 46-48 mph as near as we can determine. Procedure is to come in a little fast by "Cub" standards — about 80, over the fence at 70, chop power, if carrying any, and hold it off with stick until she threepoints. Too slow an approach and it won't round out and float, or hold off, but will plop right on. For real short landings, drag it in nose-high with power, then chop it and hit the brakes. When traffic in the pattern permits, I often make power-off 180 deg. side-approach spot landings in the "<strong>Baby</strong>". When you are familiar only with "Cubs" and gliders, the power-off rate of sink seems awfully high — 800-900 fpm, but this is typical of (relatively) small area ships. To float like a "Cub", a no-flaps plane has to be about the same size and wing loading as the "Cub". This is no problem to the low-time and student pilots, or most others who will listen while you give them a run-down on the ship and a cockpit check. Control is good in all axis, and it can be flown hands off in moderately bumpy air. No trim system is provided. <strong>The</strong> pilot can slide back and forth a bit, or actually move the seat, to balance the changing gas load. For big and little pilots, both rudder pedals and seat can be adjusted. With two-to-one aileron differential, turn entry is easy and very little rudder is needed to keep coordinated. On the other hand, it's a good "rudder airplane", and when flying with hands off the stick can be put into turns and brought out again with rudder alone without getting sloppy. "<strong>The</strong> Bomb" has no noticeable effect on the flight characteristics, and seems to knock only about 2-3 mph off the cruise speed. A closed canopy would no doubt add about 5 mph, but I haven't been in a hurry to finish the one I started since I like the open cockpit so well. It's quite comfortable, thanks mainly to the big three-piece windshield. Goggles aren't necessary at all, although I generally wear a helmet on most flights. <strong>The</strong>re's plenty of ROOM in the cockpit, too, so you can bundle up in heavy clothes and still be able to wiggle around. <strong>The</strong>re's lots of baggage room behind the seat, and I also carry small stuff on the floor ahead of the stick. A back-pack parachute cramps things up a bit, so if you want to wear one, as for aerobatics, I recommend a seat pack. (Continued on bottom of page 15)
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