SIMLA PROJECT UPDATE:

Just a quick note to bring everybody up to date on the Simla project. Jeff Petroski and his wife are currently on a well-deserved vacation in Aruba. Before he left we discussed some of the steps and goals for the project that we wanted to achieve:

1) The wing drawing and CAD filesare now essentially complete,

2) Preliminary drawings of the fuselage outline are underway, and three options have been presented earlier, (POSTS 1693 and 1699 on page 68). We invite those of you who haven't as yet to make comments and vote on the three drawings. (Andy...if you'd like to contribute a drawing based on the measurements Burkhard made and you own "trained eye", this would be a good time).

3) Once Jeff returns, the most difficult challenge of determining the final outline for the fuselage will be decided. Remember that Ed originally built the Simla <u>WITHOUT FORMAL DRAWINGS </u>...there are NO drawings or sketches of any kind to refer to, so we must essentially <u>CREATE </u>the fuselage side view with Burhard's measurements and our best judgement. We can't simply draw what we would like it tolook likebecause when all is said and done, the Simla must look like ED'S SIMLA. We are creating something that MUST look like a photograph when the final model is viewed and photographed from the same angle. This puts aspecial 'twist" on this project, and makes it unique. It's not just a new design...it's creating a design that LOOKS like the original. We need to take our time because of this unique challenge. Due to the camera angle, Burkhard's VERTICAL measurementsMAY be a bit less than we think they shoud be. Weinclude two of the attachedpictures taken at the 1965 NATS, plus one morephoto where both Ed and the photographer are lower to the ground to illustrate the point. The camera is approximately the same heightas the plane, and the plane appears "taller" These are examples of how camera angle can play tricks on us when we take measurements from different camera angles rather than directly on. Even the extreme front and rear of the TOP VIEW we used to get most of the measurements are probably just a little distorted.

4) We are hoping for a mid-late fall completion date for Simla plans, andif plans don't change, Jeff may want to produce a kit of the Simla after prototypes are built and test-flown.

Duane