Jim Koepnick

PRESCOTT PUSHER Marcia Taylor has always liked a challenge... and one of her greatest was building an airplane with absolutely no prior experience. Born in New Hampshire, she grew up in Houston, TX . .. and met her husband, Russ, there. "He was originally from Washington state . . . so I was from the East, he was from the West and we met in the middle of the country." An x-ray technician for a number of years, Marcia took stock of the rapidly changing world of the late 1960s and decided that computers would be the wave of the future . . . so, in what was a typical fashion for her, she boldly made a career change and became a computer programmer. Combining her two backgrounds, she became a programmer for a company that was computerizing the records and operations of Texas hospitals.

BY JACK COX

Husband-to-be Russ, meanwhile, had moved from Washington to Southern California at an early age, and after high school in the late 1930s, joined the Navy. He served for a time as an aircraft mechanic on a carrier, but decided he had ". . . rather fly 'em than work on 'em," so he got into cadet training and eventually flew for three years in the Naval air transport service, mainly in the

left seats of Douglas R4Ds (the Navy's version of the DC-3). In 1946 he became a pilot for Mid-Continent Airlines .. . flying DC-3s . . . and changed uniforms six years later when the company was merged with Braniff. Over the decades, he logged some 30,000 hours in DC-3s, C-46s, Convairs, DC-6s, BAC111s, the 727, 707, DC-8 and, finally, the 747.

In 1975 Russ got a bid to change his base of operation to Miami . . . so the Taylors moved within convenient commuting distance . . . to Tampa. Marcia, of course, had to give up her job in Texas as a computer programmer, and for the first time in her adult life she found herself without the kind of work challenge she had always thrived upon. It was a situation seeking a solution . . . and that solution eventually came in the form of a Prescott Pusher kit. After Russ retired from Braniff in the early '80s, he stayed away from flying for a time, but got the bug again after attending Sun 'n Fun in 1985. Ordinary factory lightplanes had not interested him enough to pursue flying them, but the new crop of homebuilts really grabbed his attention. The Prescott Pusher struck a particularly sensitive nerve because of its jet-like appearance. Before the year was out, the Taylors had beSPORT AVIATION 43

come one of the early purchasers of a Prescott kit. Work on the airplane began in November of 1985 .. . and what could have developed into a full blown domestic crisis began almost immediately. With their husbands away so much, wives of airline pilots have to be pretty self reliant types in order to cope .. . and that fitted Marcia's inclinations and abilities to a T. She had always been mechanically inclined, and over the years had assumed a lot of the household tasks normally left to husbands ... things like installing garage door openers, fixing the garbage disposal, laying tile, doing electrical work. Being so competent in the use of tools, it was perhaps inevitable that as Russ began work on the airplane, Marcia would have occasion to peer over his shoulder and murmur something like, "Uh, dear . . . shouldn't you be holding that drill a little more upright?" Included in the Prescott kits was a set of written standards for achieving aircraft quality work .. . and Marcia soaked them up like a sponge. Soon, she was the answer person for all the intricacies involved in the building of a Prescott Pusher . . . and was beginning to do a lot of the work herself. Subtly at first and then increasingly overtly, a role reversal took place .. . and literally in the twinkling of an eye, Marcia was the builder of the Prescott Pusher .. . and Russ was the fellow with the good sense to stand aside and let her meet the challenge that had been missing in her life since her "retirement" after the move to Florida. Actually, the new arrangement suited Russ just fine. For him, building was a means to an end . . . a way to get an airplane that intrigued him that was not otherwise available. Ultimately flying the thing was his goal and all the measuring and drilling and riveting were simply the agony he had to endure to get to the ecstacy. Not so with Marcia, however! The more she got into the project, the more exciting . . . that's her word .. . the work became. "The metal work was really fun! The drilling and riveting .. . and building the spars was exciting! It was such a challenge . . . you'd bend a tube and when it came out right where it was supposed to ... and when you got it all hooked up and there were no leaks, it was quite a high! So, you just say, "O.K., I did this . . . now I'm gonna get this next tube and I'm gonna do as good on it. When it

came time to do the wiring for the avionics, we got a harness built for us, but I wired all the circuit breakers, the instruments, the pitot system. I'd just think about it for a while, then jump right in

there and do it!" Asked how she worked her way into 44 SEPTEMBER 1991

aircraft quality work, Marcia said that it was a matter of first studying the standards manual provided by Prescott, then starting with some small part and working to progressively more complex components as her skills blossomed. If some particularly troublesome task was encountered that defied solution by usual means, she had no end of aviation experts to consult. Her husband had not been involved in aviation for all those years for nothing. The most difficult part of the project, Marcia says, was attaching the fiberglass fuselage shell. "It was messy and needed a lot of work . . . I enjoyed the metal work more. It was a lot like the work I used to do as a computer programmer on real time systems where you'd see your work there live on the screen. Doing the metal work, you could always see your progress . . . it was a real high!" The real story of Marcia Taylor's transformation to homebuilder status was not simply that she did it, however. Rather, it was how well she did it. The airplane she presented on the flight line at Sun 'n Fun in 1991 and again this year was simply beautiful. Professionals had assisted in the finishing touches, but her metal work and the underlying fiberglass that actually accentuates any imperfections when it is painted were convincing evidence of her suberb craftsmanship. She may have started out as a novice, but by the time she reached a point where she could tell Russ, "It's all yours, go fly it!" Marcia was a person fully capable of standing by her airplane on the flightline at Sun 'n Fun and discussing its every detail with the most experienced builder who happened by ... and she had the visible parts of her work and her FAA issued Repairman's Certificate to back up her words! Russ flew the airplane for the first time on January 13,1990 .. . which had special significance for the Taylors. Their kit was the 13th sold by Prescott and it made its first flight on the 13th, so they consider 13 to be a lucky number for the airplane. The airplane was powered by a fuel injected 180 hp Lycoming, initially fitted with a wood fixed pitch prop, and Russ quickly discovered that a special technique was required to fly the airplane properly. "I was attracted to the Prescott Pusher because when I flew the prototype, it felt like a small jet. It handled like a small jet, so that's the way I have flown i t . . . and that's the way it should be flown. On the takeoff roll, I wait until I see 60 mph, then just put a little air load on the elevators and hold them there. At 65 it will fly itself off, and after getting up the gear and flaps, I let it accelerate to 105 before starting my SPORT AVIATION 45

46 SEPTEMBER 1991

climb. With just myself and about half a load of fuel, I'm getting about a thousand feet per minute using this technique." All along, the Taylors had intended to have the upholstery and the color coats of paint done by professionals. When it was finally completed, the Prescott was taken to Lakeland and turned over to Duncan Interiors for seat, sidewall and carpet work that came out looking like something you would ordinarily see in a plush corporate jet. Duncan Interiors was located in the same building with Globe Aero, which does quality painting . . . so, with Sun 'n Fun '90 looming ever closer, the decision was made to simply roll the Pusher next door and get it painted. The paint scheme of Prescott's second prototype was followed to a great extent, with some color and other minor changes. The result was a beautiful, sophisticated paint job that, again, had the look of a corporate jet. At Sun 'n Fun in 1990, Russ was still in the early stages of flight testing. Asked how the airplane was handling and performing to that point, he replied: "The only thing I can fault in the handling is the pitch sensitivity, and that's something that can be dealt with. I have to get an artificial "feel" system in it, and that's a priority project. Technique can compensate for the sensitivity, but the feel system is needed. The biggest improvement I've been able to make is in lowering the stall speed. I installed gap seals for the flaps and ailerons .. . just a strip of sailplane tape on the underside of the hinge line .. . and lowered the stall from 72 to 60 mph! Gear and flaps down or clean, the stall is now 60 mph . . . it's amazing. That, of course, modifies your landing and takeoff procedures considerably. I'm very pleased with the way it's flying. Asked to comment on the test reports by writers who flew the prototype Prescott Pushers and reported that they

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H7 47P

had to be yanked off the runway, Russ rejoined: "They took them up to 80 mph, then hauled back on them and they would leap into the air. My technique works much better. An interesting thing . . . after we had the airplane painted, I flew it home without the gap seals and it would not rotate until it reached 75. As it lifted off, it rolled to the right about 20 degrees and would have kept right on going had I not caught it with the ailerons and rudder. It just shows how much those gap seals are needed. They make a tremendous difference. "Right now (April 1990), we're using a fixed pitch propeller. It's a very good propeller, but it's not the answer for this 48 SEPTEMBER 1991

Marcia and Russ Taylor.

airplane. We have to put a constant speed propeller on it. "Our one persisting mechanical problem is the right rear cylinder, which runs hotter than the rest. We've been working on the baffling, but still have more to do."

watched when the rear seats are occupied. "Just like jets," Russ is sure to point out. The Taylors had their Prescott Pusher at Sun 'n Fun again this year, and were awaiting the arrival of a 3blade MT constant speed propeller from

purchasers, they had almost all their parts when the company announced it was closing its doors. They were thus able to pick up the few items they lacked, plus some optional components, without having to make a large outlay of cash. They remain convinced

of the shop weighing 1,555 pounds, which was in line with the factory's projected empty weight of 1,550 pounds.

hot right rear cylinder, but hoped the

that, unfortunately, was never fully developed. Had the opportunity been available to try different engine/prop combinations, it might be a popular kit today, they believe. In any case, they intend to continue tweaking their own airplane until its performance is up to the standards of Marcia's superb craftsmanship and its beautiful exterior. ~**if

The Taylor's airplane had come out

Germany. They were still battling their new prop and its 14 inch spinner would

limits, the final weight came out at 1,661

improve the outflow of cooling air from the engine and solve their problem . . . because they had a full schedule of summer flying planned, including a trip to the West Coast.

pounds .. . can be carried in the wings, so the weight situation will have to be

30 persons still actively building Prescott Pushers. As one of the early kit

With paint, interior, avionics and 49

pounds of ballast necessary to get the

weight and balance within its prescribed pounds. 56 gallons of fuel . . . 336

The Taylors know of between 25 and

that the design is basically a good one

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