Scruffy and Misfit

After the Hall of Fame awards, my scruffy and misfit friends got together and awarded me this plaque announcing that I was elected the be the head scruff and misfit.  This proves that they knew me well.  I keep it hanging in my office and get a kick...

Ultra Light Hall of Fame Award

EAA Ultra Light Hall of Fame

Leonard was inducted into the EAA Ultra Light Hall of Fame. He was given a trip to Oshkosh to accept this trophy. The award was given after a nice dinner, and He was asked to make an acceptance speech.  The awards were held in the hangar that...

Wings and Balance

Let’s Do a Weight and Balance

You will need to do a weight and balance test on your plane before you fly.  This is necessary, so your plane will be in a controllable condition, not nose heavy nor tail heavy.  On the Cabin Eagle plans, I have 5 different weight and balance pages.  An FFA...

compression-leak-off-test

Compression Leak-Off Test

I explained to my Daughter how a compression leak-off test was used to troubleshoot an engine's cylinders. She asks me, why don’t you put that on the Builders page? So here you go. The old timers know this and have been using this test for decades....

Lucky Leonard

Lucky Leonard

I was born in Kansas City in 1924. At the age of 3 years old, my mother said I was making airplane noises and waving a toy airplane around. Fast forward, to me being 11 years old, my uncle gave me a model airplane kit. That...

hand-propping-legal-eagle-vw-engine

It Won’t Start if it’s Tied Down

This is about hand propping your Legal Eagle or the Double Eagle. I started flying legally in 1970.  I have had the misfortune to have witnessed seven hand propping accidents. I believe that I stopped one just a couple of weeks back. I warned an airline...

Legal Eagle Cold Engine Start

Cold Engine Start

Here is how to start the Briggs and Stratton engine. I usually start my VW engines from the rear and have the right hand on the throttle. When starting a cold engine, it helps to crack the throttle a tiny bit as a cold engine will...

A White Cabin Eagle Work in Progress

Don’t taxi the fuselage without the wings.

You have got the fuselage built, and it's on the wheels. Boy, is there a temptation to taxi it!  Well, I am here to tell you don’t taxi the fuselage without the wings.  It is amazing how easy it is to turn over the fuselage.  Several builders have damaged...