- Ephrata Dustup 2009
May 2009 - DG-1000 on TV
Apr 2009 - Flying the A36 Bonanza
Dec 2008 - Soaring in the ASH-25 Mi
Nov 2008 - Flying the Cessna 340
Sep 2008 - Flying the Stearman PT-18
Sep 2008 - Northwest Soaring & Flying
Summer 2008 - Flying the Kitfox on Floats
Jun 2008 - Flying Old Yaller in Alaska
Apr 2008 - Flying the Chang (Pt2)
Jun 2007 - DG-1000 in Australia
Mar 2007 - Father/Son Soaring
Dec 2006 - Flying the Nanchang CJ-6
Dec 2006 - Soaring in Australia
Dec 2006 - Soaring in the DG-303
Nov 2006 - Soaring in Poland
Jun 2006 - Soaring in the 304 CZ
May 2006 - Flying the Lake Renegade
May 2006 - Soaring in Hemet, CA
Apr 2006 - Flying the Cessna 120
Jan 2006 - Flying the Jet Caproni
Jun 2005 - Warrior Flying
2004-2005 - DG-1000 Soaring
2003-2005 - Ridge Soaring in Hawaii
Mar 2005 - Flying the 1946 Swift
Nov 2004 - Flying the Goodyear Blimp
Oct 2004 - Flying the Cirrus
Sep 2004/Aug 2006 - Soaring in New Zealand
Mar 2004 - Check Out in the DG-1000
Sep 2003 - Ephrata Encampment
Jun 2003 - Flying the Stemme S10-VT
Oct 2002 - Darrington Expedition
Jul 2002 - Winter Soaring in Florida
Feb 2002 - Flying the T-33
Oct 2001 - Soaring in Ireland
Aug 1999 - Soaring in the U.K.
May 1999 - Flying the F-15 Eagle
1978-1987 - Other Fighters
1975-1985 - Flying the Phoebus
May 1976
Flying the Jet Caproni - Jun 2005
One of the trends in sailplane development for the past couple of decades has been an increase in self-launch capability, with significant numbers of motor-gliders now part of the worldwide fleet.
In the 1970's, Caproni developed the open class A-21 sailplane, which featured a relatively large side-by-side cockpit, and also a self-launch model, the A-21J, with a small jet engine for launch and cruise.
Caproni produced the first A-21 in Italy in 1970, and within two years had collected four world multi-place sailplane speed and distance records with it. A 2-place all-metal ship with a fiberglass forward fuselage, the A-21 was followed into production by the slightly improved S model. The ship features a roomy side-by-side cockpit and widely spaced retractable twin landing wheels. The T-tail is all moving. The jet powered A-21J has self-launch capability and a service ceiling of 36,000 ft.
Dave "Hammer" Harris and I had met a few times before, first in discussions about his beautiful BD-5J, which he flew for air shows and as a target for military fighters. When Dave mentioned that he'd have his custom Caproni A-21J in Ephrata in June, I looked forward to the opportunity to check it out.
Dave is an outstanding aviation craftsman, and he felt the jet engine installation in the original Caproni A-21Js left something to be desired. He designed, fabricated and built his own custom jet engine installation in his A-21J, and the result is a work of art.
The side-by-side seating arrangement is surprisingly roomy, and the cockpit switchology is clean and well arranged. Dave engineered a very simple start system, using a small auxiliary power unit on the ground. We started the jet engine with a small metal plate located under the exhaust, to avoid scorching the Ephrata ramp area. We quickly taxied to the concrete end of the Ephrata glider launch ramp, and "pushed it up" for a nice rapid acceleration to takeoff speed. Even though the small jet only puts out about 200 pounds of thrust, we quickly established a 1500 FPM climb rate and blasted out of the local area.
Quickly reaching 3000 feet AGL, Dave throttled back to idle to let the engine cool, and we started looking for lift under some inviting cumulus. I started to get a feel for the aileron and elevator forces, anticipating somewhat heavy ailerons and a touchy elevator. My anticipation of the "70's open class" feel was right on. Compared to many of the modern high performance sailplanes, the Caproni is quite heavy on its aileron forces, with attention needed to get the yawstring centered. The pitch sensitivity was also high, due to the all-moving tail. Once I centered a few thermals and began climbing, however, the Caproni and I settled down well.
Nearing cloudbase, Dave and I decided to head west to Wenatchee, and I handed over the flight controls as Dave demonstrated the cruise flap settings. This open class bird really shines with the cruise flaps. I really felt like we had lit the jet engine again - we smoked west in a hurry! Our goal of the Mt. Stewart area began overdeveloping with rain, so we turned at Wenatchee and smoked back at cloudbase past Moses Coulee and the along the Beezley Hills area, continuing past Ephrata to Wilson Creek and Odessa. After over an hour in the bird, I now felt comfortable with the pitch sensitivity and the required aileron forces.
As we turned west to head back to Ephrata, Dave decided to take over for a moment and "push it up". With no effort, he cranked up the jet engine in-flight for a few minutes and we smoked back to Ephrata at 100 knots plus, then shut the engine down and lowered the dual main landing gear for a normal sailplane approach and landing. Dave warned me that our flare and touchdown might appear as if we were gear up, since the bird does sit low on the ground, but after a smooth approach and touchdown, all I had has was a big grin on my face.
The Caproni A-21J is an amazing sailplane. Most glider pilots long for the freedom of a self-launching sailplane, but when you add the "sound of freedom" of a jet engine, and the impressive launch, climb and cruise capability it affords, you definitely know you've moved up a level.
Now "Hammer" wants to look into installing a custom jet engine in Lynn Weller's DG-1000...
