Volksplane, Anyone know much about this plane?
tfle...@texramp.net
I am looking into ordering the plans for this plane. The plans are
only $44.00 , that is on the cheap side for plans. Anything i should
be aware of. Also does it use a 1600cc VW engine or what size?
Thanks for any help.
Trent
Everett
I started building a VP-1 in the early 1970's. The plans are detailed
enough (I have seen a few better, but a lot worse) and it is the
absolute most simple airplane to build that it is possible to find.
Everything is square cut and untapered. The engine was the problem.
Back then, the VP-1 was being advertised by the designer as using a
1200cc engine. I had an overhauled one handy and ready to convert. I
started building, but then made a trip to Oshkosh and talked to all the
VP-1 flyers I could find. I was told in no uncertain terms that the
1200cc was dangerous. Punching it out to 1340cc (which was very cheap)
was still dangerous. Several people told me they tried them both and
upgraded still more after getting scared. The newer (at that time) and
more expensive 1600cc was still iffy. The punched out 1600cc (I think
it was somewhere near 1780cc) was OK. The 2100cc came along shortly
after that trip and it was talked about very favorably by owners in
future years. One person I talked to upgraded to a 65hp Continental. I
wondered about the stress in the compression struts and spars with the
extra weight.
I wrote to the builder and he said that he had originally flown it with
a 1200cc, but he upgraded soon after. In addition, he said that the
prototype was quite a bit lighter than the plans version (from memory,
the difference was about 80 pounds--a significant amount for such a
light airplane). I do not remember all the details he listed, but one
detail that was added to the plans version was the plywood torque boxes
on the top and bottom of the airfoil outboard of the compression
struts. Another one was extra plywood (or thicker plywood, I don't
remember which) in the fuselage sides. Brakes, a steerable tailwheel, a
beefed up firewall and a few other things were added to the plans
version. I did not have the money for a new engine and the project
languished. I still have parts hanging from the joists in the basement.
A. Peillet & M. Long
I am a Volksplane fan and I have posted VP information to r.a.h. before.
The best source for Volksplane information, besides Bud Evans himself, is
the unofficial VP-1 and VP-2 newsletter:
VOLKSPLANE NEWS
Keith Schindler, Editor
1325 Princeton Ct
Denton, TX 76201
(817) 243-0165
Only $6/year for four issues and definitely worth it!
In regards to Everett's post on the VP's performance with a variety of
engines, there is a "pilot's operating handbook" for the VPs by Bill
Beatty called FLYING THE EVANS VP. The modified prototype used in the
flight tests had an empty weight of 477# (37# over the original prototype
thanks to the brakes, tailwheel, control balance weights, carb heat, and
some paint). This aircraft had had its original 1200cc engine upgraded to
1500cc. Flight testing was done at 725# gross, and unusual attitude
testing at 750# (thanks to a parachute).
The standard engine recommended is the 1600cc (long-production basic Bug),
with 1835cc recommended for high altitude operation or overweight
aircraft.
Performance with the 1500cc engine is given as 95 mph max, 75 mph cruise,
600 fpm max climb, 500' take-off (800' over a 50' obstacle), and 400'
landing (600' over obstacle.
Personally, I think the VP gets something of a bad rap. No, it's not an
RV-3. Neither is it an ultralight. It's a very modest aircraft designed
to get someone into the air as easily, cheaply, and safely as possible
behind a VW engine.
It would be a great candidate for one of the small 4-strokes out there
now--the HKS, IGC 2byFour, Verner, etc--but that would defeat the point.
You could build an entire VW-powered Volksplane for the price of one of
those engines!
Good luck!
MWL
In article <6emhf2$2k5$1...@usenet51.supernews.com>, tfle...@texramp.net wrote:
>I am looking into ordering the plans for this plane. The plans are
>only $44.00 , that is on the cheap side for plans. Anything i should
>be aware of. Also does it use a 1600cc VW engine or what size?
>Thanks for any help.
>
>
>Trent
--
Matthew Long & Agnes Peillet
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, USA
owln...@gis.net
DRigotti
Good plans and yes it uses a VW engine....
Dave Rigotti
Ed Sullivan
Everett <ho...@phonet.com> wrote in article <350F1F...@phonet.com>...
> tfle...@texramp.net wrote:
> >
> > I am looking into ordering the plans for this plane. The plans are
> > only $44.00 , that is on the cheap side for plans. Anything i should
> > be aware of. Also does it use a 1600cc VW engine or what size?
> > Thanks for any help.
> >
> > Trent
>
My experience with Volksplanes (test flying one) would lead me to suggest
that there would be little more effort involved in building a better
performing project such as a Pietenpol or a Flybaby. Neither one of them
look like a packing crate either.
Ed Sullivan
Everett
> In regards to Everett's post on the VP's performance with a variety of
> engines, there is a "pilot's operating handbook" for the VPs by Bill
> Beatty called FLYING THE EVANS VP. The modified prototype used in the
> flight tests had an empty weight of 477# (37# over the original prototype
> thanks to the brakes, tailwheel, control balance weights, carb heat, and
> some paint).
Also the other structural changes in my last post.
> Personally, I think the VP gets something of a bad rap.
Actually, we are not as far apart as it sounds. In my opinion, it is a
good airplane as long as the engine is large enough. The reason the
VP-1 got a "bad rap", like you mention, is because of the way Mr. Evans
advertised it. He said to use the 1200cc engine in all early
advertising and in the early plans. It was not adequate. I talked to
somewhere between 1-1/2 and 2 dozen VP-1 pilots in the 1970's. Their
stories were remarkably similar. The early builders took Mr. Evans at
his word (like me) and used or planned to use 1200cc engines. They had
to upgrade after the first flight. Several tried the 1340cc jugs before
giving up on them too. It left a bad taste in their mouths. This is
undoubtedly less of a problem now that the 1600cc engine is readily
available. They were relatively rare and more expensive back then.
I pulled my correspondence with Mr. Evans from back in 1973-1975. He
did say that the plans version had 37 pounds of structural changes over
the prototype. He said this was from calculations though, not scale
weights. However, the plans still showed the weight of the prototype,
not what you would get if you built it according to the attached plans.
It also did not include the bigger engine that Mr. Evans changed to,
which even he felt was necessary. My notes of actual scale weights of
plans built airplanes showed they ran from 60 to 80 pounds more than
what Mr. Evans said. These weights did not include people who "dolled
up" the VP-1, which did not happen very often anyway.
BTW, when I said the 1600cc was iffy, what I meant was that pilots who
were small (100-120#) said that the engine was adequate. Pilots who
were larger (180-200#) said the opposite. Some lived with it and some
upgraded to 1800 or 2100cc engines. This was also a problem since Mr.
Evans said many times in print that the cockpit of the VP-1 was made
larger and roomier for American pilots instead of small like the
cockpits of the European VW engined airplanes (Jodel and Turbulent).
This attracted larger pilots and made the problem worse.
All of this was not unusual in the 1960's through the 1970's. The
information given out by designers back then about their pride and joy
ranged from just incomplete to downright lies. The information
available now is better. The VP-1 would have a better reputation now if
Mr. Evans had told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
in the beginning. I have seen a recent set of plans and Mr. Evans has
deleted all references to the 1200cc engine and suggests using 1500cc to
2100cc engines.
Glafira
How about the canopies I've seen? Where can I find drawings? I have plans for
the VPII.
Reese
Nogoyer
Check out the June issue of Sport Pilot and Ultralights for an in depth report
on a very nice VP-1. Good air shots and ground shots.
