Project News

Dudley Pattison has provided an update on yet another project he has started below, it’s a Sherwood Scout that his wife insisted he build while waiting for his KFA Safari to appear in the Cleared to Fly list. If you’re thinking, I’m sure I’ve heard that name before and I’m sure he’s built something before, then Dudley does make an attempt at totting up all his previous aircraft in his item below.

Sherwood Scout (LAA 345-15827)

By Dudley Pattison

There are some good pictures and explanations of just some of the tricks he's used to help assemble the Scout’s wings.

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Iwrite this while waiting for a Permit to test fly the KFA Safari I recently completed. As I am just approaching my 78th birthday, I thought that would be my last build. My score at the moment is eleven-and-a-half microlights and Group A aircraft. Why the half? I completed a Eurowing Goldwing canard microlight for another agent. I had already built three Goldwings from scratch and they each flew well. The one that I finished for the third party didn’t, and I never found out why, but I have a suspicion that the agent who passed it on knew.

My long-suffering wife forced me to continue building as she could not bear the thought of me without something specific to do. So, I looked around seeking inspiration. I have links with TLAC as I once owned the rights to the Sherwood Ranger, the rather neat folding wing bi-plane microlight, which I sold to Paul Hendry Smith in 2002. Much later I built a Ranger from a kit supplied by TLAC. I enjoyed the build, and the aircraft was a delight to fly. So, I looked at the TLAC website and decided upon a Sherwood Scout, which is an improved version of the Reality Escapade. It is very similar to the KFA Safari, just smaller and with conventional flaps and ailerons instead of flaperons..

Left The I beam spar doubler going in from the tip end. It is set at 15° off vertical to be upright at the stall. The instructions say take your time and use some oil. It also says to do this operation at a later stage – that is after the wing to strut end brackets have been drilled into the wing spar. As the I beam doubler is an extremely good fit, and he had rounded slightly the leading edge of the I beam to aid entry, he was concerned that swarf and internal burrs caused by the drilling would impede progress. As there is no way they will move with normal handling, Dudley elected to put them in before drilling the brackets.

Above Dudley pulled through a well-used pan scrubber soaked in AC50 to aid progress, plus oil as he went. The scrubber has a line attached to both sides of it in a loop so that it can be pulled both ways after a thorough soaking in AC50.

I received the kit a few weeks ago and did the inventory with a friend. There were a few items ‘to follow’ but not showstoppers. However, I couldn’t find two drag spars, without which I couldn’t build the wings, which is what I wanted to start on. I notified TLAC and was told they were ‘definitely packed’. I was adamant that they were not there. The part number for the missing drag spars wasn’t listed on the outside of the pack containing the other four drag spars.

Eventually I convinced Paul that they were not present, and he hurriedly got two to me. I framed up the first wing in short order and when I picked up one of the main spars for the second wing out slid a package. You will never guess what was in it? Oh, you did guess… I hurriedly sent a grovelling email to TLAC, but just a tiny bit of me thought that maybe I should have been given a clue that there was something in the tubular main spar.

Overall, the quality of the components supplied is better than good, and a fair amount of work is done for you. For instance, all the main ribs and the flap and aileron ribs come complete with capping strips glued in place. The fuselage framework and all metalwork brackets are powder coated in white.

It is such a shame that the same cannot be said of the instructions and drawings. They are the old Escapade instructions modified with the TLAC part numbering system. All the instructions and drawings come as PDF

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If your aircraft has been featured in the New Projects list, please let Project News know of your progress at: projectnews@laa.uk.com

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Having said all that, it is going together very well and no major problems have been encountered so far. ■

Left Dudley made a steel disc so that he could knock the doubler through to position using a 40mm square timber. When one of the doublers was in position he was concerned to see that it had rotated a little. After some thought he cut a slot in the end of the square batten to locate on the web, andand was able to turn it with large adjustable spanner

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