Bob Cook's Fisher Celebrity

Bob Cook reports in from 52 Madison Street, Newton, NJ 07860   Email: twocoolgliders@juno.com:

This Fisher Celebrity is the second airplane I have built, but the first to fly. I just about completed a Baby Ace when it was flattened by the collapse of the hangar in which it was stored. The snow load on the roof was too much. The Ace was donated to EAA Chapter 891 and is rebuilt and almost ready to fly.

The Celebrity took 5 years and 1800 hours to complete. I have made numerous modifications although most are minor changes to the basic design.

Test flying is still in the early stages with only 11 flights and about 6 hours but here are some of the stats:

Engine: Continental O-200, zero since major, flow matched, ported and balanced. Starter, alternator and vacuum pump removed.

Prop: Hegy (wood) 72x42 (climb)

Instruments: Basic plus rate of climb and cylinder head temp. Hand held GPS and hand held radio(sometimes).

Covering: Poly Fiber, 1.7 oz. with Polytone on fabric and Aerothane on metal. All surfaces rib stitched.

Weight: 630# empty, 1050 max.

Cruise: 80 mph @ 2200 rpm (55% power)

Climb: 700 fpm @ 70 mph @ 900# flying weight (I've been holding it down a little to keep engine cool until fully broken in).

Handling: Tracks straight on ground, take off and landing. Controls are very responsive and light yet plane is relatively stable. It seems to need right rudder all the time (trim tab?). Landings are easy, easier than a Cub! Patterns seem good at 70 mph, but sink rate is out of sight! I make patterns small and tight with a little power on.

Visibility: Remarkably good for a bipe. Wings are positioned so you can see up and down pretty well, forward and back too. Over the nose is fair though, especially on landing.

MODIFICATIONS:

The material and hardware supplied in the kit were rather disappointing. I replaced most of the wood for the spars, fuselage sides etc. The ready made hardware parts were quite poor too, drilled "off" and so forth.  Maybe I'm just too picky, but it seems I replaced the major portion of the kit.

I made so many modifications that I can't recall all of them without consulting my log, but it is safe to say that there is probably no part of the aircraft that I didn't at least slightly change, so here goes:

Cowling: My own design, fiberglass nose bowl with remainder aluminum, engine cooling baffles too.

Firewall: Stainless steel, reshaped.

Fuel tank: Modified for better filler neck and finger strainer.

Engine mount: Custom (Fisher's was cockeyed)

Exhaust: Modified Aeronca type, shortened and re shaped to fit tight cowl.

Fuselage: Reshaped for cleaner look. Side and bottom stringers, turtle deck and front decks all modified. Cockpit "holes" reshaped and made rounder. Headrest added. Lexan "window" placed on underside to view control linkages on preflight. Seat lowered. Fairings on fuselage to fit bottom wings better. Instrument panel reworked. Tail post re-enforced

Tail brace wires: Stainless steel, adjustable.

Landing gear: Faired into fuselage better. Shock struts redesigned like Piper Cub, 4130 steel. More and heavier bungee shock cords added.

Wheels: Matco with hydraulic brakes, Airtrac tires, custom wheel pants.

Tail wheel: Matco, redesigned linkage and rudder/ tailwheel horns.

Elevator Horn: Redesigned.

Control bearings: Replaced Lexan (polycarbonate) units with Delrin bearings

Scarf joints used throughout fuse, sheer webs, leading edges etc. No butt joints used.

Interplane struts: Coming soon; 4130 streamline copied from "Hatz", adjustable. To replace those "bent lawn chair struts".