Cloud Dancer 7/8 Jenny

I thought I would show how the 'Spirit of America' came about and how I did the process. Hopefully, this will encourage some of you to start your dream project regardless of your circumstances.

It started with 'Pappy', a very elderly gentleman at Mathis Airport in Gwinnet County, having 2 Jenny kits that he wanted to get rid of. One he had built and flown, but hangered when he had a rough landing, and another that had never been completed. I gave $2000 for both.

Here she is sitting in the back yard with the lower wing attached so I could get an idea of what was going on.

Sorry, the pics don't get any bigger.

Since the dog occupied the back yard, I had to move to the front yard to work on everything. Here are some shots of the covering and painting process.

I used regular uncert dacron from Aircraft Spruce with generic fab glue (read that as cheapest aircraft stuff). The paint is black latex for fill and to provide UV protection and latex enamel for color. While this has worked well for me for the past 22 years or so, it is HEAVY. Plus, I was using regular weight fabric.

I put the wings on to get the cable lengths and swages done then pulled the back off to cover and paint. You can just see the lower right wing on the other side in the second picture (unpainted)

The stars on the side are cut from the same type vinyl that is used for banners and signs as well as the name and logos on the sides and tail. The bottom of the wings say "ONE NATION" on one wing (right) and "UNDER GOD" on the left. I had priced these from a local sign shop and ended up just buying the equipment and starting a hobby/business with what it would have cost me to have someone else do this. I still do this as a hobby/business and will go more into it as I retire.

Below is the Jenny at a local private airport and that is me with her after her first flight (another story in itself).

Very Very cool! Thanks for sharing that. I really like the scheme and the one nation under God bit. How does she fly? What engine are you using?

Awsome! I can almost hear Henry Mancini in the background!

Thanks for the compliments

It started with an older Cuyuna ULII that developed a muffler corrosion problem (rust) then went to a Rotax with the wrong ratio reducer to a Hirth (that I don't like).

This was my first multiwing attempt, but I have always loved the nostalgia of the biplane. Rigging the wings is a real task on these things, especially by yourself. More on that in a minute.

The first flight was REAL exciting (this is after the crow-hop stage). I like this plane as a tail dragger 'cause the tail WANTS to stay in back (my first tail dragger, too). I had done a few hops back and forth and decided to go full throttle and leave it that way on the next one. The Jenny jumped into the air right away and I climbed to around 1000agl (maybe a little higher) and found out it flies a little tail down with the way it was rigged (so it kept wanting to climb).

The first thing I wanted to do was find the slowflight and stall characteristics so I reduced the throttle. Now, on the ground (crow-hopping), it was stalling around 20. I reduced the AS to 30 or so and started a slow left turn to keep the runway in sight. The first thing I noticed was that the ailerons were no longer effective (these were added and were not part of the original Jenny) so I figured that they were undersized and too small. There was plenty of dihedral and the rudder was still quite responsive for 2 axis control so I continued the slow flight. All of a sudden the right wing dropped like some had jumped on it and was pointing straight down (or felt that way) and the plane was turning to the right (slow spin). My first reaction (drilled into me by other pilots and instructors, many thanks) was full upper (left) rudder. I looked over to the hall AS tube and the AS was at 25. I guess I found the free air stall point the hard way. After 3/4 slow spin, I lowered the nose and the right wing came up immediately and we were flying again. Since I was now pointing straight at the runway after the 3/4 spin. I added a little power and came on in for an uneventful landing (landing a little hot to keep the previous condition from happening near the ground).

I learned some very important lessons with this:

- Rigging must be precise. The right and left wings were ever so slightly different causing the right wing to stall first and enter the spin (that I was aggravating by holding the nose up). I had decided to not put in adjusters in the rigging in order to save weight.

- Thin, sharp-edged wings are not forgiving in a stall. There is usually no warning and the whole wing goes at once. The buffet-then-drop that I was accustomed to was not there.

- Biplanes with lots of wires are real draggy. This plane is not going to be a hotrod in the sky, but that's okay. I like low and slow.

My avatar is of me with the plane after the first flight. Since it is time to re-cover her again, I will correct her bad habits and will try to lighten her up with 1.7 oz. fabric and a lightweight paint system. She is a little heavy and that doesn't bode well with me being the same way.

The range with 5 gallons of fuel is only 80 miles or so. 2 strokes eat the fuel fast, even at reduced throttle. I've consider putting a 4 stroke on if I can get the weight low enough. She'll still be slow, but will stay in the game longer.

The really neat thing is, I have another one in the back yard waiting to be built. This is nearly the same as the Loehle kits for the Fokker and Spad but with a longer fuselage. A lot of pre-assembly is already done

NIce! $2000.00 well spent!

I forgot to elaborate on the engine for Jake. It still has the Hirth 45hp on it.

And lest the above first flight story sounds like I was cool and had everything under control, the following narrations of the voices in my head at the time might help:

<takeoff>

"OOOO, neat, it actually flies. Let's see, ailerons work, hmmmm - roll rate is slow. Rudder works, turns like an MX, well, sort of"

"Where am I? Looks like about 1000agl. Where the heck is the airport? And why does this thing keep wanting to climb? Better turn left and look for the runway in case something happens. Okay - pull back on the throttle and turn gently. QUICK - look at the AS. Good, it reads 30. I'm still good."

"THERE'S the runway. Whew! Scan the gauges, watch the runway"

<wing drops>

"WHAT THE HECK? LEFT RUDDER, LEFT RUDDER. DANG, Why is that wing not coming up. Oh, @#$%, I broke something."

[WE'RE GONNA DIE]

"SHUTUP, BRAIN!! Look around, Everything is still attached. Hey - there are people in a swimming pool directly below me looking at me...."

[AAHHH! WE'RE GONNA DIE, WE GONNA DIE IN A SWIMMING POOL!!!]

"SHUTUP BRAIN!!! Airspeed is 25. I should still be flying, OH, DANG, that must be the free air stall..."

[AAAHHHHHHH!!!!! WE'RE IN A SPIN, WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!]

DANG IT!!! Will you shut up!!! There's the runway. Push the nose down and aim for it. There, the wing came back up. push a little throttle in to keep that AS up. Okay, flying nice now. Start leveling, a little more, let it kiss the ground and no bounce.... just like a crow hop."

Okay, Butt, You can let go now.


The first way I told the story makes it sound more like I knew what I was doing, so I think I'll stick with that one.

In answer to Jakes 2nd question on how she flies:

I weigh in at 240, but the Jenny still will climb at a respectable rate. Originally it had spoilers, but I took them off and put some ailerons. The ailerons work but the rate of roll is slow, probably the large amount of dihedral doesn't help. She will fly very well in 2 axis mode with only rudder and elevator and often I do just that. In turbulance you will feel every burble in the air and she will twitch a good bit. I've been told by other Jenny pilots that this is normal for this design. In wind (like flying to Sun-n-Fun), getting banged around is something you just have to get used to. I will probably go back to spoilers when I recover her.

The tail is very authorative and I've yet to have any problems landing in a crosswind. Some Jenny pilots have shortened the tail by 1 bay (in order to lighten the weight) in order to put in a heavier engine and haven't noticed any difference in handling. I think the Spad and Fokker from Loehle also have the shorter fuselage.

Speed is SLOW, usually 45-50. At full throttle it will struggle to get to 60.

Stall is right at 20 in ground effect and around 25 (for the right wing at least) in free air as measured by a Hall AS Indicator. My pitot is off by a little so the cockpit gauge is in there mostly for show and I fly by the Hall.

Getting in the craft is done from the front of the wing (just behind the prop). You have to step on the tire, weave your body and other leg through the brace wires and place your foot in the middle of the seat. Then thread the remainder of your body through the wires while leaning out of the other side of the fuselage (looks like you're getting back out) until your other foot is in the seat. Then, while supporting your weight on the sides of the fuselage, you lift your feet and place them on the rudder pedals while lowering yourself into the seat. There is no floorboard for weight's sake, just the fabric.

No brakes, steerable tailwheel, 20" wheels with 'no-flat' inserts.

If you kept the ailerons you might consider reducing the dihedral. Lots of dihedral is all well and good for roll control using rudder, but is bad for handling otherwise.

-Dana

Help, I've fallen up and I can't get down!