feedback noted. Those comments were exactly what EAA needed to take back to its wireless partners and sup pliers to make things better in 2010. We'll continue to survey EAA mem bers and AirVenture attendees to de termine the best way to meet the demand next year. Look for updates as we make progress over the winter and use your ideas to make things better on the Net next summer!
Members Aim to Resurrect Bugatti Racer Two Oklahoma EAA members Scotty Wilson, EAA snss, and Gregg Carlson, EAA 101S379-are hoping to create a true replica of the Bugatti Model 100 racer. The sleek machine was built by famed auto mobile maker Ettore Bugatti and en gineer Louis de Monge to compete in an air race before the outbreak of World War II, but it wasn't fin ished in time. When the German army marched on Paris in June 1940, the project was abandoned before the airplane ever flew. Even tually, it was brought to America by car aficionado Ray Jones to acquire its engines. In 1996, the aircraft was donated to EAA, and it's on display at EAA's AirVenture Museum. In mid-October Wilson and Carl son came to EAA to identify the plane's airfoil using a "Profiler," an electronic plotter that rolls along the wing's surface, transferring data to a computer for analysis. Because there is no comprehensive set of drawings covering the entire aircraft, "the only way to build one is to backwards en gineer it," said Wilson. "It is abso lutely essential that we be able to accurately determine what airfoil is on the plane," Wilson stressed. Some aviation enthusiasts insist that since the aircraft has never flown, it is not historically Significant, but Wilson vehemently disagrees. "Five patents were issued to Bugatti for the airplane-many of which appeared on other aircraft after the war," he said, including the dual drive train, the flight control tail that mixes the elevator and the rudder, and the au tomatic flaps system, which pre-dates
Scotty Wilson, left, and Gregg Carlson meticulously plot the original Bu gatti wing in attempts to determine its NACA airfoil. EAA has the airplane displayed in the AirVenture Museum.
the F-16's by 40 years. Construction of the replica started in May. The fuselage shell is finished, and Wilson expects to complete the empennage and fuse lage over this winter. The replica racer is being built to
accommodate the Bugatti SOB en gines modified for aircraft use, turn ing two metal, ground-adjustable, contra-rotating Ratier propellers, but the likely powerplants will be two late-1990s/early 2000s BMW engines. ......
Behind the Scenes Volunteer of the Year Award We ran out of space last month to include a photo of our two VAA Behind the Scenes Volunteers of the Year. Flanking VAA President Geoff Robison are Michael Blombach (left) and Archie James. The Indiana twosome oversaw the Vintage Hangar project and worked throughout the spring and summer to complete the hangar on time and under budget, which made it possible to enjoy the facility for the first time during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009. Our thanks to Mike and Archie for their above and beyond the call of duty volunteer spirit!
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
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