Epss 1924 Light Monoplane

glad to have you back!! How about telling us about what
you're building or do you have any advice for those that are
building?

John

No advice, still working on my first plane. I have a little writeup at
http://www.hillfamily.org/david/aviation/Epps1924 about Ben Epps, Sr.
and the plane of his that I'm building a replica of.

Ben built and flew the first airplane in Georgia in 1907. He continued
to design and build airplanes through 1930 or so. His 1924 Light
Monoplane was pretty close to ultralight specs (350 lb empty weight, 60
mph top speed), and is the only plane he actually sold.

His oldest son, Ben, Jr. was planning to build the replica, but he died.
I took on the project, hindered somewhat because Ben, Jr was the only
person I know of that had actually seen the plane.

So far I've done mostly research, trying to determine the original
construction, dimensions, that sort of thing.

When the plane first flew, it was powered by a 74 cubic inch Indian
Chief motorcycle engine putting out 17 hp. It looks like he first had a
direct drive setup, then later changed to a chain and sprocket reduction
system.

By the time he sold the airplane, he had gone to a different motor, a
Lawrance A-3 2 cylinder opposed, putting out either 28 hp or 40 hp,
depending on who you listen to.

There's a guy in Brodhead, Wisconsin who has one of these engines
running on a test stand, but most of them are in pretty sad shape. And
they weren't all that great to begin with. They had a terrible
vibration problem; two cylinders on one crank throw tends to do that.
Later on someone came up with two-throw crank conversion.

Construction of the replica is going to be good old fashioned wood,
wire, and fabric, as much like the original as I can guess at. So far
the best candidate for a motor for the replica is an 80 cubic inch
Harley Davidson Evolution engine. I can get either 40 hp direct drive,
or 55-60 hp geared down.

In a nutshell, that's the project. I'm about ready to start cutting and
gluing spruce, just gotta get a shop first.

--
David Hill
Sautee-Nacoochee, GA, USA