EAA 317 and Fargo Air Museum

Saturday morning, EAA Chapter 317 President, Merill Halvorson met us at the Fargo Air Museum, along with other members of EAA and the Museum Board. Fargo EAA Chapter’s first aircraft project was to build a replica of the Wright Flyer using original drawings copied from the Smithsonian Institute. Retired military and airline pilot, and award winning aircraft builder, Captain Bob Miller, pointed out that Vaughn Thorstad, Mark Pearson and others from Chapter 317 even applied the fabric diagonally across the wing; although it used considerably more fabric due to the bias cut, the aircraft wing has no drag and anti-drag wires, leaving only the fabric warp and weft to provide that structure. The Wright Flyer was completed in 2003 and the next year the group began finishing a Merlin GT, which was started by a member who donated his project when he had to move to another state. The Merlin originated from Saskatchewan and initially had a Rotax engine; a C200 has now been installed, working 4 hours/Saturday for the last six years. Even re-building the cowling was a challenge, Vaughn Thorstad, the lead builder, said: “We’ve learned a lot about complex curves!” One year the Chapter decided to work on the Merlin instead of going to Oshkosh, that week a tremendous amount of work was accomplished.

Damien Gehler, Fargo Air Museum’s most knowledgeable Tour Guide, introduced us to a Fisher FP 404, built by Rolf Sletter in 2007. This Fisher is powered by a single cylinder from a child’s skidoo!