Designed, like the CX4, to be easy to build for the first time builder. Very economical too. Meets the Light Sport requirements. Tandem two place. 1
Dave focuses on the BEGINNING builder; one who has never built a plane before. The whole idea is to make it easy for a builder to build without any major equipment purchases. It is also safe because it is strong and lands slowly. All at a cost that is minimal both in building cost and in operating expenses. I fly the 50 HP version and it does fine with me even though I weigh over 230 and wear 3X shirts. It can be set up for tall people too. Dave is 6 foot 2 inches and the rudders are set up for him. I have to use a pillow behind my back to reach the rudders but the builder can put the rudders whatever distance forward they wish to fit themselves. The plane is also set up for the typical FLY FOR FUN mission but does carry enough fuel for Xcountry. Of course each builder can outfit it to meet their own wishes. 2
Mistake in slide Dave actually has been an aircraft mechanic for 62 years wow. He has always LOVED to design and build model airplanes like many of us did as boys but Dave kept the interest up, took a professional aerodynamics course, and designed and built the CX4. He built it originally only for himself but the interest was so great that he started offering plans. Over 530 sets of plans sold now and a the CX5, a two place, almost ready to test fly. 3
I include this info so that you can put my comments in perspective. I have found that audiences like to know a little about the background of presenters so they can assess the validity of their comments. 4
The Cassutt lifted off 3 point at 100 MPH and the Tcraft at 33 MPH. The Cassutt was VERY sensitive on the controls the Tcraft wasn t at all. The point is that I have a wide range of experience and I LOVE THE CX 4 and the way it handles it is, in my opinion, a pilots airplane. Very responsive but not overly sensitive at all.it flies the way you always DREAMED a plane should fly. Awesome. 5
Even with only 50 HP on the TRI gear and my fat butt in it, it lifts off in the low 40s and climbs immediately. It cruises about 110 120 depending on RPM. I usually cruise at slow cruise ( I m not in a hurry after all I fly for fun why would I want to shorten the flight?) Engines of various sizes are used all bigger than 50 HP and it s up to the builder. I d love to fly one with an 85 HP or whatever. I hear they REALLY climb and cruise WAY fast. I can only imagine. I fly the pattern with C172s and I keep up with NO problem and sometimes have to reduce power to not over run them Amazing efficiency. I fly auto fuel with NO ethanol and it works fine. I occasionally add a little 100LL to put some lead in the mix but flew for 100 hours without doing that with no problems. Pay attention to how Dave recommends setting up the dual electric fuel pumps on the center line away from the sides which get hot from the exhaust.i have checked fuel consumption many times and it IS as above for Touch and Goes. Amazing. Of course larger engines will use a little more fuel but still VERY economical. 6
I knew very little about building airplanes when I started with Dave. I had NEVER worked with rivets and aluminum. I found it to be very easy to learn and I am amazed how STRONG aluminum gets when riveted. Dave is a great teacher and very patient with me and my questions. I often see him answer the phone with builders who have questions and he stops and answers their questions patiently. He is ALWAYS ready to help and is very interested in builders having a good time building the airplane. Dave is very honest in every way and takes care of his builders. This plane is a work of LOVE for Dave. What a guy. 7
Todd makes superb canopies for the CX5. Dave makes the canopy for the CX4. Engine is your choice but the CX5 has this RevMaster. The landing gear is a WIDENED Sonerai II gear from Great Planes Aircraft, and Greg makes the spars, bulkheads, and ribs very quickly and very professionally done. His quality and customer service are very good. You can order spars, bulkheads, and ribs DIRECTLY from Greg. 8
Athicker wing, Closer rib spacing and a thicker bottom skin (.025 vx.020 on CX4) make it stronger even though the CX4 wing was tested to almost 6 Gs with NO deformation. The CX5 is just a scaled up version of the CX4 so it should perform similarly. The CX5 has a much wider cockpit and a much higher canopy even though big and tall guys fit the CX4 just fine. 9
The plane HAS been weighed and is as above without upholstery. My guess is that the performance will probably come out about as shown if not better. Solo I expect the liftoff speed to be in the low 40s. We will know in a few weeks when it is flown. The CX5 will accommodate two Big guys like me (but I m on a weight loss program anyway). I won t be surprised if it cruises a little faster than 120. We will see soon. 10
It all starts with a simple sheet of aluminum. 6061T is used because it is highly corrosion resistant. 2024 is a little stronger but the extra strength isn t needed. The original CX4 is 9 years old and has sat outside in our salt air here in Pensacola with no significant corrosion issues. 11
One step at a time. Bend firewall. Bolt angles on. Nothing complicated at all. Note.the fuselage longerons are simply angles that are bolted together. EASY. 12
When a bend in the longerons is needed just drill a hole as described and bend it. Simple wooden jigs work well even for Dave and me. 13
I was fretting about bending the skins around the bulkheads. I needn t have>> it was a piece of cake, and the straps work very well. 14
It s just a big puzzle. One piece at a time and an airplane takes form. Exciting. 15
Again no elaborate equipment required. This airplane is designed to be truly HOME built. 16
Our panel is traditional but, of course, You can set the panel up however you wish. 17
I had never made a rib (or anything out of aluminum) before but it was simple to do with a rubber hammer, some 1 by 12 shelving wood for forms, and a metal rod for making the flutes. Lightening holes can be made several ways and look so neat when done. Note the angles used to keep the ribs in alignment. Lots of use of clamps to hold things in place while rivets are installed. Fun. 18
The plans are VERY detailed and accurate. I actually used the plans to lay over the wood 1 X 12s and a sharp punch to outline the form blocks every quarter inch or so. Then remove the paper plans and connect the dots. Take to band saw and cut it out and then bevel the edges a bit to give the metal room to bend over ther form block. Very simple and straight forward. 19
Prebending the skins with a heavy angle while pushing down as needed worked amazingly well. It was quick too. You just work the skin gradually into the shape you want and then it fits with a little strap pressure. Same as CX4 so lots of guys who have done this are available if you have questions. Of course, Dave is always available by phone during the weekdays. 20
All the ribs are the same so once you get your spacing for rivets on the FLAT areas of the ribs you just mark from one end to the other and draw a line to keep the row straight. Note front skin overlaps the rear skin so you leave the last two rows of rivets off until you put the front skins on. Don t worry.if you forget and rivet them all it s no big deal..just drill them out, slide skin under, and re rivet. Same is true for nearly all the rivets. Mistakes are nearly always correctable easily. If in doubt ask other builders or Dave. I worried a LOT about screwing up parts at first but learned to GO SLOWLY, recheck, and then assemble. 21
Set up a workshop without distractions and it will be easier to stay on task and focused. The time goes fast when you are focused and excited about the progress you are making. 22
The manual that comes with the plans is very good and tells you HOW to do many of the tasks. We bent the angles above with a rubber mallet hitting repetitively across a heavy duty angle on the workbench edge. A little bend at a time on each pass and soon the angle is formed. Wood clamped on TOP of the edge that is to be bent keeps the bend sharp and clean. It s really quite fast. 23
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When able, it is best to fit a part IN PLACE and then cut to fit so it will be EXACTLY right. 25
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Fairly large luggage area. Not sure what the weight limit will be yet. Latch works well and keeps the door shut>>> In keeping with Dave s philosophy of keeping costs down the latch is $1.25 from Home Depot. 27
An electrically operated speed brake using a Honda window motor is attached to the main spar. It is infinitely adjustable by a momentary UP/DOWN switch in the cockpit. The CX series are so efficient that they tend to float in ground effect if the pilot doesn t keep final approach speed down so this was added to increase drag when landing. We are curious how well it will work and it surely is NEAT looking. 28
Speed brake only partly deployed. It comes down to almost 80 degrees relative to the bottom of the fuselage. 29
Not a good picture but it shows the black Honda window motor (that dark area) and the cross bar that has rods on each end going down to operate the speed brake. 30
Easy to build with angle and a web riveted on. I drill right into the table at times and put the cleco right in there. Holds very well. 31
Notice our workbench has LOTs of holes already and this was only halfway through the build. In my opinion the workbench is expendable so use it. 32
Simple 1by 2 wood from Lowe s and sheetrock screws used to form jigs as needed all during construction. Worked well. 33
Lower rudder rib bends upward and attaches to the middle rib. This is all on the plans with detailed drawings that make it a snap. 34
Clamps became my friends. A good assortment of types and sizes makes things easy. 35
Clecos are amazing.as are rivets. Clecoing things in place until ready to rivet is a superb method of building. I love metal working now. 36
The clean lines of this airplane are apparent in this photo. It s elegant lines are a result of Dave being an artist (he paints) as well as a superb IA mechanic with tons of experience. Dave is the local GO TO guy for the local A&Ps when they have a question. 37
Side skins have been fitted but removed for access to controls etc while we finish the plane. 38
Superb canopy with NO distortion (Todd s canopies.on line). The visibility is superb and I am 5 foot 10inches and have 5 or more inches of headroom above my head. Of course, all this can be adjusted by upholstery pad thickness etc. It has TONs of room on both sides and I am big (3X shirts). Nice rollover structure and triple canopy holddown lock on L side. Canopy opens toward the Right side. 39
Nice fiberglass wingtips are NOT shown here but are made by Dave to fit strobe lights on the wingtip very aerodynamic and functional. 40
Fiberglass wingtip partially shown. Note fuel filler cap on inboard wing. Each tank holds about 9 plus gallons and is made separate from the aircraft and then sits down between the ribs and onto the bottom skin. The top of the tank is the airfoil shape you see here and is attached with screws to the adjoining ribs to make installation easy. The tank itself is riveted together and sealed with ProSeal. No welding is required or recommended. Daves original tank in the CX4 is nine years old with zero leaks ever. 41
The picture speaks for itself. I should have taken a picture of the CX5 next to a Cherokee so you could see the tremendous difference. The CX4 and CX5 are sleek, elegant aircraft that get impressive performance out of any given horsepower. They land slowly and cruise fast. Total performance. 42
I love flying this plane. I usually fly at daylight for 40 min max and then head home to take my kids to school. It is silky smooth most mornings and the visibility and control response make it a delight to fly day after day. It flies the way all airplanes SHOULD. 43
You can see the big aircraft in the background. At our airport I fly with beginning students in C172s and the airliners all around me. The tower often asks me to do 360s for spacing because they know I LOVE doing them. 44
Trim lever on Right. Visibility is the best of any aircraft I have ever flown. 45
Still looking great after 9 years outside in the humid Florida air. 46
The CX5 will be painted similarly to the CX4 in the next couple of weeks and then will be ready for test flights. Big Brother. Little Brother. Same GENES.. Same efficiency.same FUN!!!!!!!!! You can tell I LOVE the CX series of planes. I hope this presentation has been helpful. The end of the presentation but the beginning of YOUR ADVENTURE. 47