Building and flying a 1930s dream Report and photos by John Spiers www.aopa.com.au January-February 2007 37
Building your own aircraft from a kit or plans seems a serious enough challenge for most people - but how about building and flying an aircraft you saw in a 1930s magazine when you were a schoolboy? And then - after eight years of building two years of flying - re-engining it with an Australian-made radial engine? Meet Richard and David Shaw, a father and son team on their property Woodstock, north east of Cowra, NSW, whose Gere Sport VH-RSD won the grand champion prize at the recent Sport Aircraft Association of Australia Wings Over Wagga meeting in October. Plans for the Gere Sport were first published in the 1933 Flying and Glider Manual and Plans magazine in 1933 - which suggested making a tail skid from a leaf spring of a Model T Ford. Richard saw the magazine in his school library in 1940 and when he finally started the project in 1996, updated plans were available from Dick Gleason of the US Experimental Aircraft Association who had worked on the original aircraft as an apprentice. Richard initially trained as a fitter and turner with the NSW railways and eventually settled into the family company, R.A. Shaw, which made jewel cases and display pads, before moving on to the land. He had built radio-controlled scale models and learned to fly and got his PPL at age 60. His son David at first did not believe that his father was learning to fly and when it was confirmed he joined in. Grandson James is also taking a keen interest and seems headed for a career as a LAME. Richard hand made many components for the Gere Sport and made a number of detail design changes to improve strength and reliability. He fitted Bendix type brakes to suit the four inch rims of the SuperCub wheels (there is no suspension - tyres run at 10lb)and designed and installed adjustable pedals - adapted from gliders. Bracing cables were tested to destruction at 2.5 tonnes - with the aid of a farm tractor and ute. Wing ribs were tested to 7.5G. Stress tests were calculated from books. David did the test flying and some minor changes were made, including planned changes to the prop, altering stabiliser incidence and moving C/G forward. Ground handling was improved by some toe-out on the wheels. The Gere Sport was initially engined with a four-cylinder 2.2 litre 2200A rebuilt Jabiru engine providing about 70 horse- 38 January-February 2007 www.aopa.com.au
Clockwise from right - David Shaw, Richard Shaw with grand chamption prize at Wagga, wing interior, craftsman at work, Gere Sport in flight. www.aopa.com.au January-February 2007 39
Clockwise from above - Richard with the 1933 magazine that started it all, David Shaw flies, warm-up for a morning takeoff from the family property, three generations, Richard with newly-installed radial engine. power, but this was found to be a bit low on torque at the sort of revs and airspeed required for a bi-plane. The Shaws took delivery of a Rotec R2800 radial engine at the 2006 Natfly at Narromine and Richard was quickly at work on the engine change. The engine mount required only minor modifications but battery box, oil tank, and other modifications were required to correct CofG. When it started flying again in August last year, only minor modifications were needed to trim settings to allow flying hands-off. A three degree pull-round on the engine proved ideal for stability. The look and sound of the radial-engined bi-plane have drawn lots of attention. David says he has only two problems with it: Sore face muscles from all the smiling and dry throat from all the talking to people asking about the engine. The aircraft does not need flaps: There is enough drag. It also has a cabin heater that works: You have warm toes. Tiny Melbourne-based Rotec is selling two models of its radial engines worldwide - a 110hp seven-cylinder 2.8 litre version and a nine cylinder 3.6 litre engine. The geared engines provide peak power at modest output shaft rpm, making them highly adaptable to replicas and homebuilts. About 10 years ago modeller Paul Chernikeeff found there was no suitable radial for a half-scale flying model of a Gee Bee Super Sportstar - so built his own 350cc motor by hand. This sparked a great deal of interest in a bigger engine and his initial version of the seven-cylinder R2800 first ran in 2000. With his brother Matthew, a trained CNC machinist, and father Jim, he was soon producing and selling engines. Demand was strong and by 2005 they had launched the bigger nine-cylinder engine, which has about 80 per cent commonality with its smaller brother. Three to two gearing keeps prop speed below 2500 rpm when the engines are at their 3700 rpm peak. www.rotecradialengines.com Empty weight 603 pounds. Gross weight 945 pounds. Span 19ft Wing area 109.5 sq ft Fuel 75 litres. Cruise 80-85 knots. Stall 39 knots. Rate of climb 800 fpm Best rate of climb is at 55-60 knots which also provides best glide at 1500 fpm. Fuel burn 19-20 litres per hour. 40 January-February 2007 www.aopa.com.au
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Gere Sport, piloted by David Shaw www.aopa.com.au January-February 2007 43