renton’s love of sailing
was matched by his
love of f lying, however
f lying seemed to be
beyond his reach.
That changed on a
working holiday in
Perth in 1986 when
he took f lying lessons
at Jandakot.
When he was 13, Brenton saw a
Spitfire in a magazine and decided
then that he’d like to build his
own aeroplane. It was an obvious
choice to build an amphibiangiven all the water such as lakes
and rivers around in Australia.
The Volmer Amphibian VJ22
design will combine his two loves
of f lying and sailing.
“An American, Volmer Jensen,
designed this aeroplane in 1958.
It is one of the few that are plans-
built. You can just buy and build
this without committing a lot of
money upfront,” Brenton says.
Apparently he’s hard to buy
presents for so five years ago his
wife bought him the plans for his
birthday. He’s been building ever
since. She loves sailing, but doesn’t
f ly herself. She does enjoy going
up and doing aerobatics with
Brenton.
The work to date has taken
place in their single car garage but
soon the wings will be ready to
attach and so the project will move
to the Murwillimbah airfield
where he is a member and it will
be hangared.
Brenton has taken great
support from the Sport Aircraft
Association’s Chapter 19 at the
Gold Coast. “I enjoy being a
part of it and it’s great to meet
like-minded people who are
bursting with information. It’s all
aeroplanes talk – the stuff thatmakes non-builders’ eyes glaze
over.”
The sliding door from the
kitchen has one part of the plans
stuck to it for motivation.
“It reminds me to do a bit each
day,” Brenton said. “And that’s a
good tip. Do a bit each day.”
His greatest joy? When things
line up.
“I can’t weld so I’ve had to
outsource that. It’s been great
getting to know the weldingguys. I was making up jigs and
giving instructions to the people
at the front counter, but as they
got to know me I was able to go
out the back and hold the pieces
exactly in my hands and when I
gave the nod, they were able to
weld it, so things got quicker and
more accurate. They prefer that
too because the onus is off them
in case there is a mistake. For a
timber plane, it is surprising how
many welded parts there are,including the rudder, joystick,
undercarriage, controls and
hinges. A lot of metal parts had
to be made twice because there’s a
lot to learn when you cross from
timber to steel. Sometimes there
is a fair bit of procrastination and
in the end you drill a hole and
remember that everything can be
fixed. The thing that I got stuck
on was the wingtip f loats. They
had curves and angles all over
the place. They’re not square andthey’re not round. They were the
hardest things to make.”
Out in the open, the aeroplane
is a gleaming crisp white. The
colour at this stage will be white
with epoxy being good to make
everything cool. Brenton will use
Orotex on the wings so there’s no
painting involved with that or the
fuselage.
He has already had a fair bit
of success with a roller and foam
brush and a painter friend will
show him the tricks. If the result
is not ideal then he can always
spray on top of it using a marine
paint.
So far no registration has been
reserved.SPORT AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA australianflying.com.au
Good SportsFlying
Boat
B
After sailing around
the Whitsundays in
a hired boat Brenton
Smith built his own
catamaran, which
he lived on for a
decade, sailing up and
down the east coast.
Thankfully, the new
owner has reported not
so much as a hairline
fracture on his craft.
By Kathy Mexted.AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2017For a timber plane, it is
surprising how many welded
parts there are.76
Brenton Smith
with his work
in progress
Volmer V J2 2.BRENTON SMITHFacts and Figures
- Brenton will use a Lycoming
233, which is the 235 that
has been put on a diet,
now weighing only 95 kg. - It has electronic ignition
and produces 86 kW (115 hp)
at 2800 rpm. - It will be in a pusher
configuration. - Expected cruise speed is
87 km (160 kmh). - Empty weight 455 kg
(1000 lbs.)