BD-4 BUILDERS NORTHWEST
NEWSLETTER
Issue 1, October 1980  

NORTHWEST BUILDERS MEET

Several (about 7) builders from the northwest area converged on Roger Mellema's home in Kent, Washington on the weekend of 6 September 1980. The object of the gathering was to talk about building BD-4 airplanes and assess interest for forming some sort of organization.

Since there is no longer any viable commercial support for the design, there is a real need to exchange information and ideas on the construction techniques, parts availability, service problems, et cetera. Hugo Snyder, Earl Schmidt, and probably others have made valuable contributions in these areas, but it was felt at this meeting that more is needed in the Northwest.

It was decided that a newsletter would be the primary effort for communication at this time. Information for the newsletter will be compiled from information supplied by interested builders and published 3 or 4 times per year. If you wish to receive the newsletter, fill out and return the attached questionnaire. Save our address so you can send any information that might be of help to other builders. Remember, if something helped you, it would probably help others.

In addition to the newsletter, at least one meeting per year will be held. Scheduling will coincide with the Arlington Fly-in, since many of us like to be there anyhow. The gatherings will definitely be family oriented, and hopefully some flying BD-4 projects will be in evidence.

Roger Mellema was the unanimous choice to head up the effort for awhile. No one felt a need for a great deal of organization, and everyone enjoyed a fun barbecue, talking airplanes, and admiring projects. If we want to participate, this could be a fun and worthwhile effort!   

 

TIPS FOR BUILDERS

This section is the "guts" of our newsletter effort, and it will die if not fed a steady diet of tips from YOU. Send ideas, operating experiences, et cetera to:

Roger Mellema
17605 SE 288 PL
Kent, WA 98042

The better shape your submittal is in when it arrives here, the easier it will be to use. However, you've got to send it to do any good at all, so don't wait until it's perfect. Your idea might save another builder a lot of heartache.

Sticking spars

It was suggested that STP really helps slide wing spars on (and off)

Groaning gears

Colin Powers has cast new main gear cushion pads to replace the Lord mounts called for in the plans. The material used was Conap EN-10, a 2-part urethane mix with a Shore A hardness of 75, and Colin has seen no creep since the initial set - about 2 years and 75 hours of flying. Colin has the mold, and if you are interested in doing this, contact him. Several units going together might lower the material cost.  

Bending belcranks

Roger Mellema submitted this detail for reducing the force in the rudder cables during braking. There has reportedly been a problem with the rear rudder belcrank due to high rudder cable forces during braking. Some other methods of doing the same thing were discussed at the builders’ meeting.