EAA Sport Aviation

That brings us to the maverick builder—I’ll call him Mel—who wishes to bolt a Ford 302 to his Skyscreamer. It’s much less expensive than a Lycoming O-360, and he already has one in the back of his garage. Some lead in the tail will balance the extra weight of the engine, gear reduction, and radiator. The problem with this is the highly regarded Skyscreamer was not engineered for that engine, and adding lead to balance the airplane is one bad decision following another. Empty weight increases, but Mel refuses to give up useful load so he arbitrarily “increases” his gross weight so he can still carry his 230-pound friend. But changing a number on the registration paperwork doesn’t make the spar, landing gear, or tail stronger, nor has the airfoil changed to provide the same safe stall and flight characteristics the Skyscreamer is famous for. But Mel anticipated his stall speed would increase (he’s smart that way) and added vortex generators and root cuffs to his wings.

This is where our privilege to experiment butts heads with our responsibility. When that aircraft has an incident, the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) paperwork will show that a Skyscreamer came apart in flight. The Internet chat groups will go crazy with speculation. Current Skyscreamer owners will question the strength of their spar. Skyscreamer Ltd. will put tremendous effort into finding out what happened, confident in its fully engineered product yet very concerned by the incident. It is a responsible company. That’s what responsible companies do. And when the facts reveal that particular aircraft was heavy, an un-approved engine was installed, and the wing was modified, there will be some relief in the Skyscreamer community, yet there will still be two fatalities, a widow, and a Skyscreamer accident in the NTSB database.

Or maybe that won’t be the end of the fallout. Maybe the few insurance companies that write policies for experimental aircraft will take a long, hard look at the Skyscreamer and decide they don’t want to insure them anymore. Insurance companies are in business to make money, and they

don’t make money paying claims. Now everyone who has a Skyscreamer— completed or under construction—as well as those who have been dreaming of building a Skyscreamer, has another hurdle to jump. Or perhaps they simply have a large pile of 2024-T3, in the form of airplane parts, to recycle.

Mel should have looked for another design that more closely met his needs. Or he should have taken the full challenge and designed his own airplane. At the very least he should have certificated it as the Mel Special, sparing the good reputation of the Skyscreamer company. With privilege comes responsibility.

Back to my caller who wants a well-built experimental airplane but does not feel he can build it himself. True, not everyone possesses the skills necessary to build an airplane, but I believe if you have the desire and choose the correct design for you, the necessary skills can be acquired. A timid builder can shore up his or her skills and confidence by taking advantage of the experienced members of the local EAA chapter, the various SportAir and design-specific workshops, and frequent visits from an EAA technical counselor. You can also get help for those tasks you simply cannot do.

And that brings us to builder assist programs. The regulations prohibit hiring someone to build an experimental category aircraft for you; the construction of an amateur-built aircraft is for educational and recreational purposes, and hiring someone to build an airplane for you is neither. At least 51 percent of your airplane must be amateur-built.

Experimental amateur-built category aircraft designers and builders have been granted tremendous privileges that allow us to attempt rubber band-powered flight or build a proven design and enjoy a flavor of flight not offered by Wichita. Let’s all—designer, manufacturer, builder, owner—act responsibly to protect these privileges so those who do not share our passion for homegrown aviation have no reason to restrict it.