Stu Horn On His Planes, And Competing With Himself

After introducing two new versions of the Husky sport/bush plane, featuring 160 and 200 horsepower engines (instead of the original 180) and better handling around the longitudinal axis thanks to new ailerons and flaps, Aviat President Stu Horn opened the floor up to questions.

Four-Seater?

Asked about the state of the four-seater project begun in a different, pre-9/11 market, Horn wryly said, "Well, we have a certain corner of the factory that has a four seat project taking it up." But the project is on indefinite hold. "We're going to concentrate on our two-seater planes -- that's where the market is."

A follow-up question on the six seat all-metal design study that Horn showed some years ago brought out an unexpected connection to the new Husky models. Horn explained that the metal design study was a "paper" plane, never really intended to be built, but to validate Aviat's advanced paperless CAD/CAM system. The ailerons in the 2005 Husky -- which give it a better roll rate -- are made on the advanced system.

Advanced? On most other CAD/CAM systems in use in the aerospace manufacturing industry, the definitive document is the paper drawing that the computerized system ultimately produces. Not so at Aviat, where the part that's definitive is actually the digital representation in the computer.

The data is dumped directly to computerized manufacturing tools and the output is ultimately, for example, an aileron rib. And no trees were harmed in the making of this part.

Not all Aviat parts by any means are made this way. Each new part done this way still has to obtain FAA approval, an arduous and costly process, so parts are only converted to the new system when they're being redesigned for some other reason.

Airline Pilot's Toy?

Asked what sort of person bought a Husky, Horn said that nowadays, they were 30% government agencies or other public interest operators, or actual bush operators; and 70% pilots seeking a recreational airplane, many of whom own another airplane for long-range cruising.

The Husky once had a reputation as an airline captain's toy. "Not any more," Horn said sadly. The ongoing changes in the airline industry mean that those folks are no longer buying sport planes at the rate they once did.

What Percentage On Floats?

Asked about what percentage of Huskies are on floats, Stu Horn admitted that he just didn't know. He guessed, maybe twenty percent? But he explained why it was hard for the factory to know. "Every one of our planes is ready for floats. Float attach points, corrosion proofing, all standard. So a customer could add floats and we wouldn't know about it."

It isn't just floats that the customers don't tell the factory about, Horn added. Because the planes are so durable, and so simple, they just don't come back to the factory. "In a way, it's good news," Horn said. "If there were problems with the planes, people would call us a lot more."

Horn had an interesting observation about floats. Floatplane customers in the lower 48, or at least in the lower latitudes, generally opt for amphibious floats. Customers in the far North of the US and Canada prefer straight floats. Horn couldn't explain the preference, but noted that the plane with straight floats performs much better off the water, and climbs better overall.

Living And Flying In Wyoming

The Husky's rate of climb comes in handy at its home base of Afton, Wyoming, where you need to cross over some 10,000 foot mountains when departing the airfield. In the Husky, or its stablemate at Aviat, the Pitts Special, no problem. "If you have a flatland plane, you have to climb up, circling," Horn said with a grin, making circles with his hand.

Wyoming is noted for its wildlife, of course, and the Wyoming natives that work in Horn's factory are dedicated to their pursuit of it. "One reason that things slow down in the fall and winter, is that's when hunting season is."

Could A Husky Fly Slower With Vortex Generators?

Of course, a lot of the performance of the Husky -- especially its short landing -- is due to its ability to fly controllably at low speeds. "A skilled pilot, with a little practice, can land a Husky in 170-200 feet. The very best and most experience have done it in as little as 120. But even an ordinary pilot can land in 350 feet, and with training and experience that number will come down," Horn said.

"You come down on final in the forties, the high forties, and then ease it back and set down."

Asked if vortex generators would improve the Husky, Horn emphatically demurred. As he explained it, the mild stall behavior of the Husky was the result of a bit of aerodynamic legerdemain. The wing itself is characterized by an abrupt stall break with little warning -- but when you take a Husky to a high angle of attack, the tail incidence is set so that the tail, which is providing downforce to counteract the down-pitching moment of the wing, stalls first.

When the tail stalls -- with plenty of warning -- the wing pitches down before fully stalling. The result is an apparent mild stall with full aileron control retained throughout.

VGs disturb this precise minuet. The stall of 38 to 45 kt may be lowered by as much as four kt. But the tradeoff is this: the wing now stalls before the tail, abruptly. In Horn's estimation, the very small reduction in stall speed that's made possible by the VGs is not worth the hazardous change in flight characteristics.

FMI: www.aviataircraft.com