Experimental Cruisairs

F

flymetro

New member
Has anyone on the group made an experimental of any Bellanca successfully? If so what did you do and what was required?

I am also interested in some of the ideas of what current owners would change on their planes if they were to be able to change it and make a "new Cruisair".

Also, does anyone know who currently owns the Cruisair type certificate?

Thanks
Marty :?:
 
Hey Marty,

I recall reading of a Ford powered Cruisair some years back in the newsletter. I do not recall, nor do I know, what you have to do to get a certificated aircraft moved into the Experimental category. All I know is that there is more to it than simply proclaiming this change to the feds.

Previously approved changes have most commonly involved engines as you can imagine. A long time back many owners stuck O-435 Lycomings in their Cruisairs, but that's not a great idea today. Franklin 180s have gotten past the federales, and I know of one case where a Franlin 220 was approved. Far and away, however, the Lycoming O-360 has been the most popular and probably the most intelligent choice for those who don't want an orphaned engine up front. Usually this involves employing a different cowling: Cherokee, Commanche...I forget which one.

Lots of people grew tired of those 36-37 hand cranks to get the gear up or down and have gone over to hydraulic hand pumps or electrical systems.

The prop is a problem as good Aeromatics have grown scarce and Tarver's shop is not exactly an off-the-shelf facility. Thus many Cruisair owners have opted for fixed pitched props.

The fundamental problem is that we are not a type club with thousands of aircraft flying, such as the Luscombe, Cessna tailwheel, Champ, Cub, Taylorcraft and others are. Thus there is no comprehensive collection of 337s and one-time STCs available.

As for the TC, last I heard, G.M.'s son, August Bellanca, holds it for Cruisairs. The TC for Cruisemasters is held by the current incarnation of Bellanca.

In short, I'm not sure that going the Experimental route will help you, nor would it be easy, alas.

Jonathan
 
There used to be a thread in this forum about converting to Experimental. Someone was thinking about doing a wing conversion, as I recall.

I don't see this thread anymore. Is there a forum policy about how long a thread remains posted? I hope they don't get removed after a certain time period, as this information is usually quite useful.

Back to the point at hand, the consensus of the thread was that the only way that you can get an airplane licensed as Experimental is to prove to the FAA that you built 51% of the airplane yourself.

There was an article in a recent EAA publication about a plane that Paul Pobrezny built from a Piper airplane, but he re-engineered the wings, cut down and otherwise modified the wings and fuselage, then covered the plane. The FAA decided that he had done more than 51% of the work and it was licensed as Experimental.

There is another type of Experimental category, Experimental-Exhibition or something like that, but it is typically used by manufacturers to try different engines, wings, autopilots and other configurations before the new version of the plane goes into production. It is also used for some heavily modified airshow planes.

You don't want to get your plane licensed in this category as the aircraft are typically restricted to local test areas. They can be flown to airshows, demonstrations or other aviation activities, but require specific FAA approval for each flight out of the designated test area.

Dave York
 
DOH!,

I just noticed that there are several more pages in this forum.

I wondered where all the posts were hiding.

What a goober I am sometimes.

Dave York
 
Being in some kind of experimental category would make maintenance easier. This would allow newer technology such as brakes, fuel sender/gages, propellers, strobes, etc to be allowed without the crazy paper work now needed.

I read that article on Paul's T-Craft and also went Hmmm, but he did that long ago with a different FAA then we have now. But I submit that anyone who strips the fabric off and old aircraft, guts the interior and engine and puts it all back together has done as much work on that as anyone who builds a kit like the quick build kits that are out there now that qualify for 51%.

Also it anyone wants to send me their 337's and STCs to create a comprehensive collection of 337s and one-time STCs I will but them on a web site for us.

Kevin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top