BTW IT IS VERY CLOSE TO THE FINAL; RAA: "RECREQATIONAL FLYER" Spring 2015. (Great magazine to subscribe to!)
FLYING IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST PLANES!
By David Herron
RAA # 8267
Elliot Lake ON
Our lives are gifted with special people cut from different cookie cutters and each has unique gifts on display to the
world. What a stroke of luck and a great privilege it has been for me to meet the mechanically gifted Hal Cummings.
“You love planes” an acquaintance said, then told me he knew a man who had built several airplanes, and had a collection of cars, “You must go meet him!”
In fact, as it turned out, Hal has been in on the construction of a half dozen airplanes, many cars, a boat cruiser
- he even made his own bulldozer! He even tracked down and restored his father's 1935 Hudson “Terraplane” - what a beauty!
Each hobby would be a story in itself; but this is a flying publication, so I’ve only mentioned the others in passing.
Hal is passionate about everything he does, whether it's flying or in his machine shop. He is well known in our area not only for his skill sets, but for the help he has given to many people. I for one might not be flying without his help. At 86 Hal is one of the youngest and most enthusiastic persons I know!
Born in the town of Massey Ontario in 1929, life in that area and era was not far off pioneer style, when there were no trains and commerce was supported by shipping.
At about 12 years of age Hal began helping a fellow build small boats for the resort industry. With that experience,
he moved on to making window sashes, then opened his own business at fifteen years of age, followed by house building. He has been an electrician, carpenter, and mechanic by trade, and is a self-taught machinist. His machine shop is ‘to die for’! Perhaps we could say he saved the best of his skill-sets for the last - flying!
In 1946 a Fox Moth pilot offered Hal his first plane ride at Little Current, Ontario. There is a refurbished Fox Moth at The Bush plane Museum in Sault Saint Marie which was finished for the Museum’s 25th anniversary(2014). When Hal began his flying career in 1983 it was not easy to find a flight instructor up in that rugged country, so he had to travel several hours to Sault St. Marie in order to get instruction in an ultra-light class airplane. Local pilots at Espanola then further encouraged his flying with instruction in certified aircraft (Champ). In the course of time he also took some aerobatic flight training.
Hal is an excellent engine man and he developed much of his extensive engine experience over the years building two stroke and four stroke car, boat, and airplane engines. Hal was one of the first Bombardier dealers outside Quebec. In fact he tested and analyzed their first demo machine before any were released to market. For many years he even raced snow-sleds with a team of three.
I asked Hal what his favorite airplane was over the years and with a lot of nostalgia he reflected back on his first ultralight called a CGS Hawk (Oct. 1983 – July 1986). It was powered by a small 35 horsepower Cuyuna engine. He felt that it flew like bigger plane and the memory of it becomes sweeter as the years go by.
Hal’s next airplane was a J 3 Kitten (Sept. 1985 – May 1988) powered by 75 horsepower twin carb 532 Rotax . It could fly at 92 miles an hour and handled similarly to a Super Cub. It could take off in a scant 30 feet on skis from ice - this he knew because one day he measured the snow tracks on the ice. The bad news was it had little room for the pilot, let alone anyone else.
Hal then decided to build another airplane, a J6 Karatoo (Oct. 1989 – 2002), rag and tube, powered by a Continental 85. It had good performance < and side by side seating, though it did not match the Kitten, it out performed his friend's Champ with the same engine.
THE “JG KARATOO-TANDEM” (2004)
In 2002 Hal took a short hiatus from flying, but a year later he got the flying bug back and to started designing a variation of his third plane which had been a J6 Karatoo.
The “JG Karatoo-tandem” (2004) his latest rag and tube is a two place, built a bit smaller with purpose., “I built it for convenience” said Hal. As he likes to keep everything to the “KISS” principal he registered it as a basic Ultralight but he built it to amateur build standards of his first Karatoo.
Everything Hal makes is well constructed. He thinks nothing of pulling an engine and tearing it down when he's not happy with a situation, or he may keep redesigning a cooling system until it works properly.
Hal’s Tandem Karatoo is powered by a normally aspirated 72 hp Subaru EA 81, and swings a 72 inch Warp Drive three blade propeller, mated to a 1.69:1 reduction drive, (his own creation). This employs roller bearings for radial thrust and a double set of ball bearings for the end thrust. Each re-drive has been problem-free. Hal also built a redrive for his friends Subaru powered Sprint. Later versions are ten pounds lighter than his first Karatoo version. In his trials he found the 169:1 the best fit for the engine, prop and rpms that he wanted to use. Hal did a test with a McCauley 74 inch two blade prop which had been used on a Continental 85 and he got the same rpms with the Subaru-and-redrive setup as on the Contonental. Although the Subaru had the necessary torque to turn the McCauley, Hal felt that the heavier blade and increased surface area would be too much stress on the re-drive to be used safely.
Hal’s well equipped machine shop has all the milling equipment to make his own gears but he opted to use a Gates gear, cut down and mated to a lighter backing plate like a ring gear on a flywheel. This was quicker for him than making the cutting tools for the tooth profile of the cog belt. Hal realizes that without much difficulty he could get more hp out of his Soob, but he prefers to cruise at 3800 rpm for a number of reasons; noise, stress on the engine and gph.
Hal machined his cylinder heads to ensure that they would be dead flat, but did not take enough off to raise compression. He converted the hydraulic lifters to mechanical, because the hydraulic ones stayed pumped up when cold, and this made starting difficult.. Hal uses a British SU automobile carb and love it because it is very simple and not prone to icing. He burns approximately 2.2 gallons per gph in the Tandem Karatoo.
For the wing design of the Tandem he used a copy of his first J6 Karatoo, which is a copy of the J3 Cub, wood ribs, covered with fabric and painted by the “Hipec” process. The chord is a narrowed four feet, to accommodate folding to street legal width for road transport. Of special interest; just removing two bolts at the main spar allows the wings to swing, and everything moves with them, struts, controls, etc. For the landing gear he used the front springs out of a John Deere Gator cut in half. The little gem JG Karatoo cruises at 90 mph on floats and will cruise at 120 mph on wheels. His floats were made in Quebec by the late Claude Guilbault. They are a set of second hand 1050’s, similar to the new ones he had on his first Karatoo.
How fast can a determined man build a plane? Hal filed for his build permit in June of 2004, and finished the plane in August of 2004 - but he had to wait until October to receive the paperwork before he could fly the plane. Hal told me that he started the engine and re-drive a month before he began the frame construction; and as he had previously built the earlier Karatoo, that experience allowed him work faster on this one. He is not a boaster, rather a very determined and aggressive individual and when he sets his mind on a project he is tenacious, to say the least. His late wife must have been a saint. He said, “After I closed my Skidoo business and only did occasional machine shop work I had to do something!”
Hal is so focused that he seems intimidating to some of us, but we do not worship him. Often we argue with him to prove our point and he will come back with the “I tried that before, but if you want to go there I will help you,” as long as its safe mind you.
Other airplanes Hal has built or helped with include:
* a Protect PT2 powered by a 0-235 Lycoming, for a friend. *He worked on a friend's Sprint powered by a Subaru E-81 with a Hal Cummings reduction drive. *Another was a Lincoln-Sport, which had various engine re-fittings until they found that a Rotax 503 worked well with that airframe. * Of course friends would get help with engines on many home-built aircraft.
We often say in our Northern flight community that the airplanes are just our excuse to meet with our friends in the air and more often on the ground in the hangar!
After calling a few of his friends to ask for past memories, they related, "back in the day," it was nothing for a half dozen pilots to decide to fly to Orillia or wherever they wanted to commit to
Aviation. Off they would go into the wild blue yonder with a gaggle of birds, Kitfox, Super Cub, Champ, Pelican and whatever Hal was flying. Often their most fun was with winter fly-ins when friends came from North Bay and west from Sault St. Marie to Espanola, or they might travel to Sturgeon Falls.
On one of the flights I had with Hal we took off downriver towards Spanish and headed for the mouth of the river as it opens up into the spectacular scenery of the “North Channel” of Lake Huron. Then we proceeded over the many little islands, with large romantic looking sailboats below. The flight continued to Little Current the entrance to Manitoulin Island, returning via the La Cloche Foothills, Espanola and back to home base beside the Massey bridge. This is wonderful country and if you are in Ontario you should fly up and experience it yourself.
I have not flown with Hal for a few years, but what a privilege when I did! He is an excellent pilot. For “yours truly” it was a thrill to fly back-seat in his float plane, taking off from the Spanish River. I know he continues to help a number of pilots in this region with his technical know-how and I for one am very grateful. It is people like Hal who make amateur aviation such a great hobby.
If you are ever flying floats north of Tobermory or on wheels near Espanola you should look him up Just call Bert at CYEL to make contact - and bring muffins for the inevitable coffee session!
world. What a stroke of luck and a great privilege it has been for me to meet the mechanically gifted Hal Cummings.
“You love planes” an acquaintance said, then told me he knew a man who had built several airplanes, and had a collection of cars, “You must go meet him!”
In fact, as it turned out, Hal has been in on the construction of a half dozen airplanes, many cars, a boat cruiser
- he even made his own bulldozer! He even tracked down and restored his father's 1935 Hudson “Terraplane” - what a beauty!
Each hobby would be a story in itself; but this is a flying publication, so I’ve only mentioned the others in passing.
Hal is passionate about everything he does, whether it's flying or in his machine shop. He is well known in our area not only for his skill sets, but for the help he has given to many people. I for one might not be flying without his help. At 86 Hal is one of the youngest and most enthusiastic persons I know!
Born in the town of Massey Ontario in 1929, life in that area and era was not far off pioneer style, when there were no trains and commerce was supported by shipping.
At about 12 years of age Hal began helping a fellow build small boats for the resort industry. With that experience,
he moved on to making window sashes, then opened his own business at fifteen years of age, followed by house building. He has been an electrician, carpenter, and mechanic by trade, and is a self-taught machinist. His machine shop is ‘to die for’! Perhaps we could say he saved the best of his skill-sets for the last - flying!
In 1946 a Fox Moth pilot offered Hal his first plane ride at Little Current, Ontario. There is a refurbished Fox Moth at The Bush plane Museum in Sault Saint Marie which was finished for the Museum’s 25th anniversary(2014). When Hal began his flying career in 1983 it was not easy to find a flight instructor up in that rugged country, so he had to travel several hours to Sault St. Marie in order to get instruction in an ultra-light class airplane. Local pilots at Espanola then further encouraged his flying with instruction in certified aircraft (Champ). In the course of time he also took some aerobatic flight training.
Hal is an excellent engine man and he developed much of his extensive engine experience over the years building two stroke and four stroke car, boat, and airplane engines. Hal was one of the first Bombardier dealers outside Quebec. In fact he tested and analyzed their first demo machine before any were released to market. For many years he even raced snow-sleds with a team of three.
I asked Hal what his favorite airplane was over the years and with a lot of nostalgia he reflected back on his first ultralight called a CGS Hawk (Oct. 1983 – July 1986). It was powered by a small 35 horsepower Cuyuna engine. He felt that it flew like bigger plane and the memory of it becomes sweeter as the years go by.
Hal’s next airplane was a J 3 Kitten (Sept. 1985 – May 1988) powered by 75 horsepower twin carb 532 Rotax . It could fly at 92 miles an hour and handled similarly to a Super Cub. It could take off in a scant 30 feet on skis from ice - this he knew because one day he measured the snow tracks on the ice. The bad news was it had little room for the pilot, let alone anyone else.
Hal then decided to build another airplane, a J6 Karatoo (Oct. 1989 – 2002), rag and tube, powered by a Continental 85. It had good performance < and side by side seating, though it did not match the Kitten, it out performed his friend's Champ with the same engine.
THE “JG KARATOO-TANDEM” (2004)
In 2002 Hal took a short hiatus from flying, but a year later he got the flying bug back and to started designing a variation of his third plane which had been a J6 Karatoo.
The “JG Karatoo-tandem” (2004) his latest rag and tube is a two place, built a bit smaller with purpose., “I built it for convenience” said Hal. As he likes to keep everything to the “KISS” principal he registered it as a basic Ultralight but he built it to amateur build standards of his first Karatoo.
Everything Hal makes is well constructed. He thinks nothing of pulling an engine and tearing it down when he's not happy with a situation, or he may keep redesigning a cooling system until it works properly.
Hal’s Tandem Karatoo is powered by a normally aspirated 72 hp Subaru EA 81, and swings a 72 inch Warp Drive three blade propeller, mated to a 1.69:1 reduction drive, (his own creation). This employs roller bearings for radial thrust and a double set of ball bearings for the end thrust. Each re-drive has been problem-free. Hal also built a redrive for his friends Subaru powered Sprint. Later versions are ten pounds lighter than his first Karatoo version. In his trials he found the 169:1 the best fit for the engine, prop and rpms that he wanted to use. Hal did a test with a McCauley 74 inch two blade prop which had been used on a Continental 85 and he got the same rpms with the Subaru-and-redrive setup as on the Contonental. Although the Subaru had the necessary torque to turn the McCauley, Hal felt that the heavier blade and increased surface area would be too much stress on the re-drive to be used safely.
Hal’s well equipped machine shop has all the milling equipment to make his own gears but he opted to use a Gates gear, cut down and mated to a lighter backing plate like a ring gear on a flywheel. This was quicker for him than making the cutting tools for the tooth profile of the cog belt. Hal realizes that without much difficulty he could get more hp out of his Soob, but he prefers to cruise at 3800 rpm for a number of reasons; noise, stress on the engine and gph.
Hal machined his cylinder heads to ensure that they would be dead flat, but did not take enough off to raise compression. He converted the hydraulic lifters to mechanical, because the hydraulic ones stayed pumped up when cold, and this made starting difficult.. Hal uses a British SU automobile carb and love it because it is very simple and not prone to icing. He burns approximately 2.2 gallons per gph in the Tandem Karatoo.
For the wing design of the Tandem he used a copy of his first J6 Karatoo, which is a copy of the J3 Cub, wood ribs, covered with fabric and painted by the “Hipec” process. The chord is a narrowed four feet, to accommodate folding to street legal width for road transport. Of special interest; just removing two bolts at the main spar allows the wings to swing, and everything moves with them, struts, controls, etc. For the landing gear he used the front springs out of a John Deere Gator cut in half. The little gem JG Karatoo cruises at 90 mph on floats and will cruise at 120 mph on wheels. His floats were made in Quebec by the late Claude Guilbault. They are a set of second hand 1050’s, similar to the new ones he had on his first Karatoo.
How fast can a determined man build a plane? Hal filed for his build permit in June of 2004, and finished the plane in August of 2004 - but he had to wait until October to receive the paperwork before he could fly the plane. Hal told me that he started the engine and re-drive a month before he began the frame construction; and as he had previously built the earlier Karatoo, that experience allowed him work faster on this one. He is not a boaster, rather a very determined and aggressive individual and when he sets his mind on a project he is tenacious, to say the least. His late wife must have been a saint. He said, “After I closed my Skidoo business and only did occasional machine shop work I had to do something!”
Hal is so focused that he seems intimidating to some of us, but we do not worship him. Often we argue with him to prove our point and he will come back with the “I tried that before, but if you want to go there I will help you,” as long as its safe mind you.
Other airplanes Hal has built or helped with include:
* a Protect PT2 powered by a 0-235 Lycoming, for a friend. *He worked on a friend's Sprint powered by a Subaru E-81 with a Hal Cummings reduction drive. *Another was a Lincoln-Sport, which had various engine re-fittings until they found that a Rotax 503 worked well with that airframe. * Of course friends would get help with engines on many home-built aircraft.
We often say in our Northern flight community that the airplanes are just our excuse to meet with our friends in the air and more often on the ground in the hangar!
After calling a few of his friends to ask for past memories, they related, "back in the day," it was nothing for a half dozen pilots to decide to fly to Orillia or wherever they wanted to commit to
Aviation. Off they would go into the wild blue yonder with a gaggle of birds, Kitfox, Super Cub, Champ, Pelican and whatever Hal was flying. Often their most fun was with winter fly-ins when friends came from North Bay and west from Sault St. Marie to Espanola, or they might travel to Sturgeon Falls.
On one of the flights I had with Hal we took off downriver towards Spanish and headed for the mouth of the river as it opens up into the spectacular scenery of the “North Channel” of Lake Huron. Then we proceeded over the many little islands, with large romantic looking sailboats below. The flight continued to Little Current the entrance to Manitoulin Island, returning via the La Cloche Foothills, Espanola and back to home base beside the Massey bridge. This is wonderful country and if you are in Ontario you should fly up and experience it yourself.
I have not flown with Hal for a few years, but what a privilege when I did! He is an excellent pilot. For “yours truly” it was a thrill to fly back-seat in his float plane, taking off from the Spanish River. I know he continues to help a number of pilots in this region with his technical know-how and I for one am very grateful. It is people like Hal who make amateur aviation such a great hobby.
If you are ever flying floats north of Tobermory or on wheels near Espanola you should look him up Just call Bert at CYEL to make contact - and bring muffins for the inevitable coffee session!