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QuickTalk 8 - PILOT PROFILE

/Paul Yungen resides in Powell River, British Columbia where he is a Bleach Plant Operator in the local pulp and paper mill. Mr. Yungen got his private license in 1975, bought a partnership in a four-seat Stinson and flew it for the next five years. He soon got the bug for a homebuilt and completed his Quickie (C-GPCJ) in June 1981 after 14 months of work. Paul has since put about 100 hours on the plane and its 22.5 HP Onan.


"The construction was somewhat more difficult than expected, although I was probably a bit better equipped than the average homebuilder. I still had to buy lots of extra tools and could have used a few more yet. A Dremel and Stanley Surform file are a must. A hole saw set is also very handy, especially a 5/8" size, if you can find one. I was lucky as my plans had all the corrections marked in. (Still ended up making two left elevator cores, but it was my mistake.)

I had very few parts missing in my kit and, of course, I checked everything off carefully. I sent a list of all the missing items and I received everything in time. Also, when I had to order extra materials, our dealer had them on hand and I didn't have to wait longer than it took the post office to deliver. At times when I needed certain things in a hurry, they were sent by bus or courier.

I stuck to the plans on everything except the instrument panel and rudder pedals. The instrument panel was attached directly to the fuselage. It makes it a little harder to get in, but I like it O.K. The rudder pedals were brought rearward about 2" as I am only 5' 10". Looking back, it probably wasn't necessary. It would be more comfortable if my legs were straighter.

I found it quite hard to bend the orange foam for the fuel tank, wing and canopy covers until I got a proper heat source. A propane catalytic heater worked fine. Household hair dryers were useless.

The instrumentation was left pretty much standard. I added an hour meter and exchanged the altimeter for a sensitive type, but that's all. My push-to-talk switch was moved from the stick installation to a conventional location because of feedback problems. Also, the jacks were moved closer to the radio. Overall, the engine and instrument plans could be explained clearer.

My own engine's first start was excellent. After priming, it started on the first couple of swings. All instruments worked. The cooling is good even on the hottest days. I made extra large cutouts on the cowling so air can escape easily. My baffling is the same as the plans. Prior to first flight, I read all the pertinent information that was available to me and talked to many pilots that had similar experiences. Only one major thing happened on the first flight after 20 minutes of flying around the airfield. On final approach, the engine stopped due to low battery. I had failed to properly check the charge condition prior to flight. I had spent 10-15 hours of ground running with a considerable amount of idling. This can dangerously run the battery down.

Repairs to the Quickie have been relatively minor. Mostly things like aluminum brackets cracking and a couple of bushings coming loose. The vernier throttle started to come apart (on the ground fortunately). The main wheel bearings wore out in 10 hours and the tailwheel rubber started to come off after 30 hours.

With an aircraft like a Quickie, it is of utmost importance to keep the weight down. I'm proud of the way mine looks and flies, but I regret not taking more time in building it light and especially in finishing the wings to as perfect as possible. It would fly much better in rain if they were better. So, keep it light or you won't be pleased with its performance. Don't rush - spend lots of extra time on getting a perfect finish or you'll be doing the wings over again, like me.

I have a feeling of joy flying my Quickie that I built it and it does what I said it would do. I get lots of humorous remarks now when I fly over our town. My friends tell me how they heard this lawnmower, but couldn't see any neighbors cutting grass. They finally looked up to see this weird looking thing go by so fast.

I love flying and I'd do it every day if I could. And I like talking about my plane. I enjoyed building it as much as flying it. It was a new experience and I feel proud of myself for having pulled it off."




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