MTT TOLLE MIs BABY ACE N upsurge of interest in amateur-built aircraft has been reported by Civil ‘Aeronautics Administration agents throughout the country, and headed by Wiley R. Wright, director of the CAA’s general aviation staff, and his deputy Carl W. Clifford, the governmental agency is developing & program known as the “Avia tion Incentive Movement” to stimulate the interest of American youth in all phases ‘of aviation and to guide and expand this interest Tn the following pages MI, in support of the CAA’s efforis, is proud to present plans and instructions for building Co Tae Le Col LL ae Tne MEE Baby” Ace iy. prectical light plane. Powered by a 65 hp engine, It has a f about 110 mph, yet lands at aol tr cai ein)" Cotsng spect which was popular around 1993. Most of the early tests were run at the University ‘of Wisconsin. ‘The plans were modified and brought up to present day standards by Stanley J. Dzik, who was Aircraft Design Engineer with [Continued on page 213]If you're really enthused about home-built aircraft, here's your chance to get into the air with a neat sport plane. By Paul H. Poberezny BUILD THE EYEE see ME published “They Buta "Bm ‘And Fly "Em" in March 1954, 1 hhave been deluged with letters asking how and where to obtain information and plang for a home-built airplane. This series of articles on the MI Baby Ace will enable you to get started on such a project and L know that you will have just as much fun build ing your plane as you will ying it ‘All the materials you'll need to build the Baby Ace are available either through the Experimental Alreraft Association, 3001 S 56 St, Milwaukee 14, Wise, or through the advertising columns of Tvade-A-Plane 120 | l are responsible for the At low cost secondhand, evs, Croll em. You can aban 2 Copy by requesting from the pu Iter tthe above area Th buldig the Baby" Ace we. made several changes 0 as to nae use of vars ous pars of the famous Piper 3-3 Cab Blane There paris are readily: avatable ta eliminate the necessy for fabricating tome of the fitings shova in the pang For example, a4 landing geri used With light. "modifeation, ‘because ts Suny; reliable an canbe bought stom inal coat. As construction of your Baby Ace pro- Mechanix Illustrated‘Pobererny nail te to wing spars while Carl Walters, another enthasaat, mounts plane's intrument panel gresses, it must be inspected by a CAA Safety Agent (see page 119). Therefore, to make certain you follow CAA regulations spverning home, bul seat construction ‘obtain a copy of the regulations. to send you a printed copy, free, if you'll ‘enclose a stamped, addressed envelope with ‘your Inquiry. "A word about the accompanying draw- ings. "You will note that there are many places where numerals appear in paren theses, For example, in the drawing of the ‘wing rib assembly on-page 125 you'll find ('DWG 102”) following the words “Clark Y Rib Assembly." Such references are to the large-scale drawings (see box on page 129) which carry numbers 700, 702, 704, ‘te, and indicate that the particular part Shown will be found in greater detail on the large-scale drawing bearing the num- ‘ber shown. In the case of the Clark ¥ rib, it would be Drawing 702. First step in wing consiruction is to make jig in which the wing ribs can be as~ Sembled. "To make the simple jig, obtain a full-size drawing of the rib (from EAA) fand transfer the outline of the rib onto a Board, Mxcl2x60 in. in size (see drawing), using’ sharp pencil. If you don’t obtain the full-size rib drawing, you'll have to scale out the outline from the dimensions given in the accompanying drawing 1 ‘Make sure the surface of your board is smooth and free from warp so that the ribs will be true, After making the rib layout tn the board, nail wooden blocks at various intervals on either side of your lines. These blocks, of %-in, pine, are cut to ft the rib contour before being nailed to the board. ‘Take great care in making the jig as the ribs must be assembled accurately. ‘The capstrips which comprise the ribs are made from M-in-square spruce. When these capsteips are placed within the jig formed by the pine wood blocks on the board they assume the proper rib shape (see drawing). The blocks hold the eap~ strips in place while you glue and nail the bracing gussets in position, "You will note that the curve of the wing rib is greatest from the leading edge to the front spar. This requires that you bend the capstrips into position on the jis after they have been soaked in hot water to make them pliable. 'With the capstrips in position in the jig, ‘glue and nail the gussets in place, as shown, fe deawing Use cin birch or mahorany to make the gussets. ‘They can be cut to ‘size and shape with a jig saw. The nails fare cement coated ¥4x20 gauge aircraft type. Use casein glue. There are 28 ribs required, including the compression and root ribs (see drawing) Mechanix IllustratedBEAN «= Saar ia. ong ae) wee eweeR 8‘The compression ribs differ from the others in that they are reinforced with %-in~ Square spruce struts. These struts are clearly shown in the drawings. ‘Make the aileron ribs in one piece with the wing ribs, and cut them off Inter to save time and effort. ‘The point at which to cut them is indicated:-in the wing rib assembly draw- ing. ‘The next te x contrulion ofthe wing spars. To start with, the four spars are made from %-in. selected aircraft spruce, First square off one end of each spar. These will be the “root ends” that attach to the fuselage, Now cut the proper bevel on each spar as indicated in drawing. Measure and draw a line along the spar to represent ‘the neutral axis, which is 27,-in. from the bottom of the front spar and 1fi-in, from the bottom of the rear spar. Next, lay out the spars for drilling the holes as indicated In the drawings, Inmaking such measure ‘ments, start at the root end of the spar and work out toward the tip of the spar. Be sure that all of the dimensions check before you start drilling. ‘Now just a short explanation of the ac- tion of the spars under stress so that a full | /Giate point between the top and bottom of the spar where the compression merges into the tension stress and where neither compression nor tension will exist. This tension nor compression, is a horizontal line running along the length of the spar ealled “the neutral axis” of the spar. The neutral axis is used as a basis for measurement on the spars and that is the reason that I have taken so much time explaining it, Since 126 ia Now ont Gon) ‘are two left and two right spars for each wing. In short, there is a right and left front spar and a right and left rear Be sure that you don't forget this or ‘will have a lot of wasted material outer tps. ‘You can now start to assemble the wing. Slide all of the ribs in their proper places Cut and fit all plywood gussets..‘The draw- ings show the hardware that is attached to the wing, such as drag and anti-drag wire fittings, strut and wing fittings. We have Mechanix Illustrated |eases nauk Sica an 3 ne aarde saad iiss caine natant li dil mt itll mRG eis Hialeas, Geass) aa Bye ean Ferns 7 Fates 701 2) rod . ee kept the design as simple as possible and terial on hand to complete the installation yet of sufficient strength. We (EAA) have ‘on hand the material cut to proper size, less drilling and bending, for those interested, Following the drawings iis an easy tank to make and install your fittings. Next will be the installation of the drag and anti-drag res. By obtaining the complete fittings wires, By from a J-3 Cub you will have enowgh ma i te Hf hi i LEBSESEE Hila cleptet ae rel, ca Fee.129 May, 1955