|
|
 |
|
|
|
| First Flight. Click On Pic To Go To Video |
One day...a while back, I decided it was time to live the dream
instead of day dreaming. Have you ever heard the quote by Henry Ford, " Whether you think you can or
whether you think you can't, you're right." Well, I think I can...build an airplane, primarily at home, in my garage. So,
welcome to my Skunkworks Airplane Factory. The purpose of this website is to document the construction of a two seat
bushplane called, the BushCaddy. It took me five years and about 2000 hours to construct the plane.
First Flight was on October 10, 2010. The plane flew beautifully in all respects. It is easy to fly and land,
is very stable in the air...in short it is everything I dreamed of. N2C is powered by a Lycoming
O-235 L2C, 118 HP, aircraft engine. This was the first project of this kind for me, so I got lots of direction
and support from the good people who run BushCaddy, other BushCaddy Builders, the EAA and my local EAA Chapter - Colonial 279.
|
|
| Curtis Fogal just finished his Bushcaddy in 2/ 2011. He flies out of CPH2, Deep River, Ontario. |
|
|
| Sylvain Papillon's L-160 in the foreground on skis and ready to go. |
. .
|
|
| Glenn Bishell's L-164. This is Glenn's second BushCaddy, he previously built an R-120. |
|
|
| Sylvain Papillon's L-160 At His Winter Fish Shack |
|
|
| Graham Johnson's New Zealand built R-80 |
|
|
| Martin Abud's R-120 with Datum Air Skis |
|
| Panel Installed |
|
|
| Cecil Dawe Flying His L-160 |
The BushCaddy is an all metal airplane with a strong and robust airframe
capable of landing and taking off in rough terrain. Depending on the builder/pilot's choice, it may be rigged out with
wheels, floats or skis and with a stall speed between 32 and 35 MPH, low and slow can be a way of life.
|
| Wings On!!! Summer 2008 |
|
|
| R-80 Builder John Birrell flying in Waikerie, South Australia. Photo by Rob Wintulich. |
There are several models to choose from: E-LSA, two seat, cargo and several four
seat models. The kit may also be purchased in stages: fuselage, cabin and wings.
Here's some additional
information: 2. The Video that goes with the article here: YouTube 3.
BushCaddy Builder, Glenn Bishell, flying his BushCaddy R-120 here: YouTube 4. Check out Ron McNamara's completed L-162 Max taking off on this
video and note how quickly it is off the ground w/o even having to raise the tail: L-162 Max Video. 5. Check out Sylvain Papillon's first
engine start. It's an Aerosport O-360 in a Bushcaddy L-160: You Tube 6. Here's another Youtube video, this one
by Willy Trinker and Marin Streeter from the Arlington Fly In: You Tube
|
|
|
| Marshfield Airport, Marshfield, MA. |
My name is Don Morrisey and I live in Marshfield, Massachusetts, which is
on the coast about 20 miles south of Boston. I also have a house in a small town named Judique, on Cape Breton Island in Nova
Scotia, Canada (I was born in Cape Breton). One of my goals, in building this airplane, is to be able to fly to Judique
and land and take off in my back yard, where I plan to construct a 700' grass airstrip at some point. I learned to fly in Marshfield
(KGHG) but bought a hangar in Plymouth (KPYM). Plymouth Airport is really nice, with great management, two runways,
a small cafe (Plane Jane's) and great camaraderie.
|
| Cranland Airport, K28M, Hanson, MA |
I chose the BushCaddy because it is all metal and has a very strong and robust air frame.
Compared to many experimental aircraft kits the structure of the BushCaddy is amazingly strong. The plane can
achieve a decent cruise speed (I'm getting around 100 MPH @ 2400 RPM), has great off field capabilities and has a proven
track record with over 100 airplanes flying.
Prior to purchasing the BushCaddy kit I visited the factory, which
is just outside Montreal and flew one of the models. The airplane has a relatively roomy cabin, is very comfortable to fly
in, is very responsive on the controls and as a result - handles beautifully. I originally dealt with owners Sean Gilmore
and Marlene Gill who subsequently retired and sold the compaany to Tony Watkin who is passionate about flying and the
BushCaddy. The tech support, during construction of my airplane was excellent.
|
| BushCaddy R80 On Floats |
|
| Tri Gear BushCaddy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cape Breton Future Grass Landing Strip |
|
| Cape Breton, Nova Scotia |
The gross weight of the R-120 is 1700 lbs and my empty weight came
in at 1115 lbs, which is on the heavy side. With 36 gallons of fuel there is still be plenty of useful load for
two passengers and some baggage. I went back and forth on
which engine to use. My original plan was to power the airplane with a Lycoming O-235, but it was on the heavy side
so I settled on and purchased a Jabiru 3300, which is a 120 HP, aircooled, horizontally opposed aircraft engine
made in Australia. The Jabiru is about 80 pounds lighter than an O-235. But....I guess this is like a multiple
choice test where you should always go with your first choice. After long, hard and drawn out thought, I ended
up selling the Jabiru 3300, which was still in its crate and bought my coveted Lycoming O-235 L2C. Nothing like 70 plus
years of engineering history when flying a single engine aircraft. There
is a BushCaddy discussion group on Yahoo. Go there and sign up, you'll get some good advice and find a friend or two.
Please feel free to
contact me with any questions. You can email me at: don@donsbushcaddy.com
|
| Cabin & Fuselage Complete |
The narrative, information and documents on this website are not meant
to be taken as the definitive way to build your airplane. They are not endorsed in any form or fashion by BushCaddy
or Tony Watkin. They are simply what worked best for me. Your results may vary and/or you may find a better and easier
way. If so...let me know!! Thanks. Don.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All Metal, Wheels, Floats Or Skis, Robust
Bushplane
|
|
|
|
