EAA 9 Pilot Bruce Butts

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Wilbur Wright

It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill.

Len Morgan

The way I see it, you can either work for a living or you can fly airplanes. Me, I'd rather fly.

Bruce Butts

Wittman Tailwind W-10

My project started when my family purchased the plans for me as a Father’s day gift. Little did they know it would become my project for years.

I decided to make the wings first and to make them of aluminum per the design of Callbie Wood, who has supplemental plans available for the Wittman Tailwind. What appealed to me was the ability to get the fuel out of the cabin (the Tailwind as designed has one fuel tank in the boot cowl), the ability to have more room for instrumentation if my budget would allow for a full IFR panel and durability of the aircraft if it should have to spend time on a tie down if I could not find a hangar.

I am estimating the fuel tank in each wing will hold between 18 and 20 gallons. The wings are made from sheets of 2024 T-3 aluminum in thickness of .032, .025 and .020. The ribs are all of .025 except for the ends of the bays sealed up for fuel are of .032. The innermost wing skin is .032 where the fuel tank resides, the next skin is .025 and the tip is covered with .020.

The wings are riveted construction, using 1/8" solid rivets on the inside and flush rivets on the wing skin using blind rivets on the nose where I could not get a bucking bar. The wings were riveted with the help of friends and the interior sealed with fuel tank sealant similar to Van’s Aircraft construction for their fuel tanks.

I purchased a fuselage from an estate that had been completely TIG welded and included the landing gear, wheels, tires and brakes, the most of the spruce and plywood for the wings. I brought this home on a trailer and it is still in the garage/hangar today. I have converted the frame to be a tricycle geared aircraft by moving the main gear to sockets just to the rear of the seats and creating the nose gear/motor mount by following the design on how to make the tricycle geared Wittman Tailwind by Jim Clement, a Tailwind builder that has created 10 award winning Wittman Tailwinds.

My wife and I decided to take this photo last year when friends assisted me with setting the wing incidence. The wing mounting brackets have been welded onto the fuselage and the struts cut to length. I am at the 60% complete stage with 160% left to do.

Now the struts have been finished and I am working on the stringers and the doors and fitting the windshield and side windows.