The Spiritof `03...lives on!

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AREA 103
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Kerry Kearney and
Mary Jones
The
Spirit of ’03 ... lives on!
Bob Severance
Shortly before EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh 2002,
Ultralight/Lightplane
Area Chairman Charles
“Chazz” Humphrey
suggested that a great
way to commemorate
the then-upcoming 100th
anniversary of the Wright
brothers’ first flight in
1903 would be to build an
ultralight. After all, the
Wright brothers were the
first ultralight pilots!
Bonnie Eales-Jensen and her husband Dave (left) took the lead on finishing the Spirit of ’03
during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006. By the end of the convention, the machine was on
the gear with the wings attached. Now, it’s awaiting painting and some other final touches
before flight testing begins.
el
The plan was to build as much of
the machine as possible during EAA
AirVenture 2002 to showcase how
easy it can be to build an ultralight.
Chazz asked Jerry Eales, the Ultralight/
Lightplane Area’s technical counselor,
to take the lead on the project. As a
member of EAA Ultralight Chapter 1’s
Microlite Flyers from the Milwaukee
area, his proximity to Oshkosh would
be beneficial. Plus he had a lot of
building experience, having built
an Ultra Piet that won the grand
champion ultralight award in 1998.
For AirVenture 2002, Jerry set up
a project tent outside the Ultralight
Barn and construction began. The
welding was done at the Welding
Workshop on the north end of the
AirVenture grounds. Jerry oversaw the
construction and directed the many
volunteers who aided in the project.
Many AirVenture attendees stopped
to watch and/or assist with the
project, too. When AirVenture 2002
ended, there was still much work to
be done, so Jerry took the Legal Eagle
to his home in Hartford, Wisconsin,
Photos co
M. Jones
urtesy Mo
methods, including wood, welded
steel, aluminum tubing, and fabric
covering. Additionally, the Legal Eagle
can be built in compliance with FAR
Part 103, which defines ultralights.
rry Humm
B
ut which ultralight should it
be? After much debate, Leonard
Milholland’s Legal Eagle design
was chosen because it involved
several construction materials and
Fred Flood, a longtime EAA volunteer, works on wing ribs with an AirVenture attendee
during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002, when construction the Spirit of ’03 began. The welded
fuselage is visible in the background.
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Courtesy Bonnie Eales-Jensen
volunteers, the EAA Ultralight Chapter
1 Microlite Flyers, and Bonnie and Dave
are determined to see this Legal Eagle
fly at AirVenture 2007. They’re hoping
maybe one day it will find a home in
the EAA AirVenture Museum. This little
plane, after all, does have a lot of spirit!
Showing the Way
Chazz’s idea that demonstrating how
easy it is to build an ultralight might
inspire others was definitely on target.
One of those who happened upon
the Spirit of ’03 project at AirVenture
2002 was Scott Johnson of Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. A commercial airline pilot,
Scott then had more than 10,000
flying hours logged, but he’d never
built an airplane because he wasn’t
sure he had the skills.
During the first three days of
AirVenture 2002, Scott said he found
himself wandering back to watch the
progress on the Legal Eagle several
times—six times on the first day,
in fact! By day three, Jerry and the
other volunteers had convinced him
he could handle the project, so he
sought out Leonard Milholland and
purchased a set of Legal Eagle plans
and a construction video.
Scott began building his Legal
Eagle in the winter of 2003, starting
first with the wooden wing ribs.
Next he tack welded the fuselage.
As money permitted, he purchased
more materials and continued the
Jerry Eales led the Spirit of ’03 project, with
assistance from EAA members from around
the country.
construction. Overall, he figures he
has invested about $6,200 in the
machine, with the major portion
in the full-case 1/2 VW engine that
powers it. He kept a detailed builder’s
log in case he had trouble keeping
the machine within the 254-pound
weight limit for ultralights so he
could certificate it as an amateurbuilt, if necessary. Altogether, he
logged 632 hours constructing the
Silver Slug as he’s dubbed it (silver for
its color; slug because it’s slow). Scott
says between the plans and the active
builders group on the Legal Eagle
website (www.BetterHalfVW.com),
there’s more than enough assistance
available to beginning builders.
Throughout the construction of his
M. Jones
M. Jones
where he organized the project into
tasks for the next AirVenture.
When EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
2003 rolled around, Jerry again set
up the project in a tent near the
barn. Throughout the week, many
AirVenture attendees stopped to learn
aircraft construction techniques and
lend a hand.
At the end of AirVenture 2003,
many parts still needed to be located
or constructed. During the following
winter, EAA Ultralight Chapter
1 members covered the machine
and learned proper fabric-covering
techniques under the watchful eyes of
Jerry and his daughter, Bonnie EalesJensen, an airframe and powerplant
(A&P) mechanic with an inspection
authorization (IA) rating.
But, time and AirVentures slip by
quickly. AirVenture 2004 and 2005 saw
more progress on the project. During
the winter of 2005, Jerry’s health
deteriorated, affecting his ability to
carry the Spirit of ’03 project forward.
At AirVenture 2006, Jerry’s daughter,
Bonnie, and her husband, Dave, took
charge, and other volunteers jumped
in to help. Before AirVenture 2006
ended, the Spirit of ’03 was on its gear,
with the wings attached and the fullcase 1/2 VW engine mounted on the
firewall.
Now, the Spirit of ’03 is stored at
the East Troy (Wisconsin) airport
awaiting paint and finishing touches.
Chazz, the EAA Ultralight Barn
The wings for the Spirit of ’03 Legal Eagle
were completed during EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2003.
Scott Johnson built his own Legal Eagle after watching volunteers begin to construct the
Spirit of ’03 at AirVenture 2002. He said watching them gave him the confidence to tackle
the project.
EAA SPORT PILOT
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M. Jones
M. Jones
Scott followed the plans nearly to the letter, only substituting miniMAX wingtips for the
squared-off Legal Eagle tips because he liked the appearance better. He also added 1inch-thick pieces of foam between the wing ribs to prevent the leading edge of the wing
from dimpling. He used Lexan to form the windshield and used a bending brake to add a
flange to reduce wind flow into the cockpit.
Scott used the Better Half VW engine to
power his machine. He’s still completing
flight testing, so he wasn’t ready to offer
performance figures. Leonard Milholland
lent a similar engine to the Spirit of '03
project to power it for its first flights.
The Better Half VW uses the full VW case.
Scott said the benefits are there’s more oil
capacity to help cool the engine, and the
original engine mounts can be used.
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machine, Scott sought Jerry’s advice.
He took his tail fins to Jerry’s house for
him to inspect the construction before
he covered them, and Jerry visited
Scott’s home to check the wings before
he covered those as well.
Building the 1/2 VW engine
was one of the bigger challenges of
the project, but Scott said there’s a
lot of support for engine builders,
too. He retrofitted the engine with
a stronger 78 mm crankshaft and
92 mm cylinders, which are larger
than standard VW cylinders. That
combination is projected to develop
37 hp at about 3400 rpm. However,
with only about eight hours total
time on the engine and two on
the engine/airframe combination
when we visited with him, Scott
wasn’t ready to commit to what the
machine’s actual performance is. On
one of his initial flights he recorded
55 mph at 3100 rpm.
Still, with that little time logged,
Scott said he’s pleased with how the
ultralight handles. “It flies well…all
the way down to three-point landings,
and it taxies well. The rudders are
hooked directly to the tail wheel, so
any time you move the rudder, the
tail wheel moves with it, but the tail
wheel will only go as far as the rudder,
so the machine has no tendency to
ground loop. It helps that it hangs
really low to the ground, too.”
But Scott said he’s not sure how
much longer it would have taken
him to get his courage up to build
an airplane if he hadn’t seen the
Legal Eagle project in progress. “I
just didn’t have the know-how or the
experience, but watching the folks
working on the Spirit of ’03 project
gave me the confidence I needed.”
Good job, volunteers!
Postscript: As this issue was going to
press, we learned that Jerry Eales passed
away in early October. We extend our
sincere condolences to Bonnie, the rest of
Jerry’s family, the Microlite Flyers, and
Jerry’s many other friends. Jerry’s interest
in aviation began in middle school. He
earned his private pilot certificate in
1989. In the early ’90s he developed
heart problems, so his aviation interests
turned to ultralights. He began building
an Ultra Piet in January 1993 while
recovering from heart bypass surgery.
That’s the aircraft that won the grand
champion ultralight award at EAA
Oshkosh 1998.
EAA SPORT PILOT
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