By Scott Christiansen, EAA Lifetime 43627
After learning to fly in an Alon Ercoupe, my first tail dragger checkout was in a Piper Super Cub. My flying career started after graduating from the aeronautical curriculum at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. I was soon flying a 180-hp Super Cub six hours a day, six days a week towing gliders at the U.S. Air Force Academy (AFA) in Colorado Springs. I had already started building the Piel Beryl several years earlier due to my interest in EAA and needing an aircraft to build flight time and experience.
My first trip to the annual EAA fly-in was in 1968. This has been an annual vacation for the last 58 years, flying to AirVenture. The Beryl now has 34 Oshkosh decals on the fuselage. I moved the Beryl project to Colorado Springs when my towing job became full time and I had a part-time job as a mechanic maintaining the fleet of gliders at the AFA. Building the Beryl from plans gave me a lot of experience toward being a knowledgeable aircraft mechanic. A used Lycoming IO-320-B1A was purchased, but when I received it, it was not as advertised, so I overhauled it as part of the build experience. During college I worked at Univair during the day and went to A&P school at night. Univair provided the Hartzell prop that has been on this aircraft for over 45 years.
After 10 years of building the Beryl, the special airworthiness certificate was issued, and it was time for its first flight. There was no hint that anything was amiss during taxi tests. Upon rotating for flight, the aircraft went nose high, so I had to push forward stick to stay under control. The flight was short but flew with lots of down trim and reduced power.
During the 10-year build I had no knowledge about tail and wing incidence; I built the Beryl as per the plans. The Beryl was designed for lower horsepower by Piel, and I had installed a 160-hp engine since I was flying at a field elevation of 7100 feet, and I thought I would have a fast cruise speed. Not to be! I modified the tail incidence as much as I could and reworked the fiberglass tail fairing. The change made the Beryl “normal,” but it would never be fast. Any further modifications would require a complete rebuild of the fuselage, so I have to be thankful that the Beryl’s flight characteristics were acceptable and the subsequent 2,500-plus hours of flight time have been enjoyable and safe.
The other aircraft you see in the photo above is a Dean Wilson design called the Ellipse. I built this kit as a retirement project after 30-plus years of civil service with the DOD and DOT. Dean Wilson designed this aircraft to be similar to a popular certified aircraft and for it to fly faster and carry four adults and baggage. The Explorer Aviation kit project was first shown at Oshkosh in 1998. Serial number 4 was purchase from Explorer Aviation, and I bought it from the original buyer in 2003. Upon retirement in 2005, I towed the aircraft from Denver with my Chevy to Rapid City, South Dakota. The folding wing design made this possible. Dean Wilson was part of Avid aircraft and Kitfox during his long career in aviation and built several one-of-a-kind aircraft. The Ellipse has four seats, 180-hp Lycoming, large baggage behind the rear seats, long glider-like wings that fold for towing or storing, one pilot door, and one passenger door. It flies great and has been flown to AirVenture Oshkosh 10 years.
This was a retirement project, and extra effort was made to make it perfect, but it was not intended to be “best-in-show” at Oshkosh. I have been flying the Ellipse and Beryl for a total of 60 years, and both aircraft still look like new and fly great. The other Ellipse in the photograph (on the left) was built by Mike Hauger in Grangeville, Idaho, and these Ellipse aircraft are the only two in the United States. More information can be found in the April 2002 EAA Sport Aviation feature cover story for the Beryl and in the March 2013 Experimenter feature cover story for the Ellipse. Find both articles in the EAA magazine archives.