Quote:
Some people think that once something is written about in 1968 it doesnt have to be re-hashed later, I dont believe that. Some materials change, some dont. Sometimes we learn lessons since the last article was written and that information needs to be passed out to the homebuilding community. Its on our shoulders to keep the technical and homebuilding information in SA.
The problem isn't so much that things have changed with the technology of (as an example) the fabric-covered bug smashers, but that there is a perceived attitude among a fairly decent sized swath of the rank and file members of the EAA that anything that isn't built using traditional means (wood, fabric or aluminum) or non-turbine powerplants isn't living up to the "true spirit of what experimental aviation is all about!". That is in quotes because it came from a rant I watched a member of a local EAA chapter go off on when there was a mention of the fact that I'm designing something with a turboprop and a fuselage of carbon fiber and Kevlar. The fit continued with a tirade about why didn't I just use a modified engine out of a car or focus on something other than this "new fangled obsession with plastic planes" (his words).