January 2012
1 post
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December 2011
6 posts
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Clutton FRED featured in EAA Light Plane World... →
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Power to the people and FRED!
A recent Barnstormers ad caught my eye. Eric Herzog of Texas is selling a Continental A40 that had been “mounted on a ultralight Cub and my father sold the aircraft and kept the engine. It has a single magneto, both mufflers and unknown motor mount.”
I can’t do much with an A40 right now, but the ad did get me thinking about FRED engine options. Eric Clutton’s...
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Wonderful article by a FRED fan
Steve Slater is the caretaker of a real treasure—a 1947 Tipsy Trainer. Not only is the Tipsy rare and beautiful, but it combines both sophisticated design and spartan simplicity with many features of interest to homebuilders.
Steve is also the proud owner of Clutton FRED G-BMSL. Follow the “Pics” link above to see pictures of Steve’s FRED and many more. On top of...
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Clutton FRED is now on Facebook! →
Moving www.cluttonfred.info to Tumblr has allowed me to add the snazzy new buttons you now see at the bottom of each post for sharing via Facebook, Twitter, etc.
With sharing in mind, I have also created a Clutton FRED page on Facebook, so now Facebook FRED fans can simply “like” the Clutton FRED Facebook page to receive each new FRED post via Facebook.
Cheers,
Matthew
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A new beginning
Eric Clutton’s original FRED has gone through many iterations over the years—changing engine and prop, landing gear and rudder, not to mention color scheme. So, too, this site has changed.
With the impending demise of Apple’s MobileMe hosting service, I have moved to the Tumblr blogging platform. You are looking at the new version right now!
www.cluttonfred.info will redirect...
November 2011
1 post
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FRED in need of wings
Jon Bright dropped me a line to let me know of another FRED taking shape in England.
Jon writes, “Just thought you might be interested in this picture of my FRED taken in June 2011. Registration is G-BGAH, started long ago by Graham Harris (I think). As of December 2010, it lives with me near Norwich, UK. I’ve started renovating what I have (which isn’t much!) and I’ve bought a set of plans...
October 2011
4 posts
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We've got video!
Thanks to Mike Perkins for sharing nearly an hour of footage of his FRED G-PFAF and to Pete Moore for helping get it off the original tapes and into a format I could use, I can now share my first of what I hope will be several original FRED videos. This is also the inaugural clip on the new cluttonfred YouTube channel. Enjoy!
Looking ahead, despite challenges including a major earthquake,...
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Air-to-air FRED footage
This YouTube clip is the only air-to-air footage I have seen of a FRED in flight. I can’t be sure, but it looks like FRED G-BGFF. The caption says simply, “Charlie flying Ian’s FRED taken from Dave and Rob’s Skyranger.” If anyone knows Charlie, Ian, Dave or Rob and has more to tell, please do!
Video: Courtesy of daijohn3
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Neil Dykes taxis G-USTY
Neil Dykes has been restoring the cheekily registered G-USTY. I love the early WWII RAF trainer paint scheme. Neil, I haven’t heard from you in a while. Has G-USTY done more than taxi? And what do you “reckon”?
Video: Courtesy of Neil Dykes
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Another virtual FRED!
Well, it’s been quite some time since my last post here but after a sleepy period interest in FRED seems to have picked up. I’ll have a couple of new videos soon, but for right now, here’s something special.
Ted Cook recently contacted me to share his freeware virtual FRED for Microsoft Flight Simulator (FS 2004 or FSX). This is in addition to Jacques Brault’s freeware virtual FRED for...
February 2011
2 posts
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Chatting about landing gear
Rob Thomas is in the process of restoring Clutton FRED G-BMMF to its former glory near Cardiff in Wales. He recently shared this interesting e-mail exchange with Eric Clutton with the FRED Yahoo! Group, so I thought I’d preserve it here for posterity.
Rob’s part of the thread is in italics, Eric’s part is in bold:
Hello, Eric.
I’m still buggering about with G-BMMF, a...
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Modifying FRED for easier cockpit access
Eric Clutton contacted me recently about a modification which he has made to the original FRED, an entry/exit to make it easier to climb in and out of the cockpit. I have collected Eric’s comments from multiple e-mails below:
“I have put an access door in one side of FRED and drawings are available to FRED builders for cost of postage. You can now SLIDE in instead of CLIMB in! I even got...
October 2010
1 post
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If this FRED could talk...
Prolific aviation photographer and past contributor to this site Bill Teasdale contacted me recently to share this July 2010 photo of FRED G-PFAL (PFA 029-10243) at the back of a hangar at Bann Foot, Northern Ireland. According to Bill, this little beauty was “stored for several years after ditching into the River Bann.”
According to G-INFO, G-PFAL was originally registered to builder Harry...
August 2010
1 post
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A Sutton harness for your FRED?
More than once I have heard FRED described as “cheeky,” which my dictionary defines as “impudent or irreverent, typically in an endearing or amusing way.” That about sums up Eric Clutton’s sense of humor as well—the original FRED still sports a mock Spandau from his “FRED Baron” days!
That said, FRED is also a rugged and safe little airplane. Safety is no laughing matter, but I think I...
May 2010
1 post
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An Aussie lead on another UK FRED
The folks at the Sport Aviation Association of Australia (SAAA) were kind enough to feature this site in the April/May 2010 issue of their magazine Airsport. The idea was to help me get in touch with some Australian FRED builders and owners.
Well, no Aussie FREDs have yet come to light, but I did get an e-mail from an Aussie telling me about another FRED in the UK.
The G-INFO entry on G-PFAF...
April 2010
1 post
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A Gipsi for your FRED?
Not exactly a FRED post, but I thought I’d share this nonetheless.
As I gather materials and parts for my project I am always on the lookout for instruments and equipment appropriate to my future FRED. In doing so, I am amazed at how quickly the avionics world has started to change, with moving maps and highway-in-the-sky navigation coming down in price to the point where they are affordable...
March 2010
4 posts
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Happy birthday, Eric!
I had a few messages from Eric Clutton over the last week or two which I decided to save for today. An ugly Tennessee winter has generally kept Eric grounded so he has been keeping busy repainting FRED, now “Rustoleum ‘Safety Yellow’ with RAF roundels and a new engine cowling.” He has also been pursuing his other great passion, scale model aircraft, using a subject we all recognize.
Per...
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The beating heart of FRED ZK-FRD
In response to some questions from me, Evan Belworthy of New Zealand has this to share after 30 years of experience with the VW installation in his FRED ZK-FRD:
“Fred has a 1835 cc VW running a Johnson Outboard carburetor and single battery ignition. The original had a magneto also, driven off the crankshaft, but the single ignition is fine. The carb heat box is a light switch box and the...
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Fly a virtual FRED
I am probably not alone in turning to flight simulators over the years to get a little taste of flight when time or money or circumstances kept me from the real thing. The best flight simulator I have ever “flown” is X-Plane, available for Mac and PC, which has also developed a cult following in stripped-down versions sized for Apple’s mobile devices. There is something of a learning curve...
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EAA steps up, Eric Clutton on FRED
Even before Eric Clutton moved to Tennessee he had already jointed the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in the United States. Many other associations around the world including Britain’s Light Aviation Association (LAA) (formerly the Popular Flying Association (PFA)) and France’s Reseau du Sport de l’Air (RSA) have had a significant impact on aircraft homebuilding worldwide. Nonetheless,...
February 2010
5 posts
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A New Zealand FRED turns 30!
This past weekend I was delighted to receive a detailed message and some nice photos of ZK-FRD (note the registration) from Evan Belworthy of Cust, North Canterbury, New Zealand. I’ll let Evan tell the story:
“Our Fred was started in 1977 as a father and son project, Dad (Alan Belworthy) had built a Woody Pusher and the teenager helped on the project, the next step was learning to fly...
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Steve Bennett on FRED VW power
Eric Clutton’s own FRED (originally G-ASZY and today N4499Y) has had many different engines over the years. Today it wears a Continental A-65 but at the time Eric began to make plans available it wore a converted Volkswagen Beetle engine. In fact, Eric and his friend the late Albert Tabenor were pioneers in using VW aero engines in Britain, following in the footsteps of Frenchmen Edouard Joly...
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Birds of a feather
The parasol wing configuration goes back to the earliest days of powered flight. One such example is the Morane-Saulnier Type L, the plane that helped Roland Garros become arguably the world’s first true fighter pilot in 1915. That the same Roland Garros after which the French Open tennis tournament is named—Garros was an avid tennis player.
The simplicity of the parasol monoplane...
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You know you're getting old...
…when you become a museum exhibit!
Mike Smith, curator at the Newark Air Museum in Nottinghamshire, England recently sent some additional photos of FRED G-BJAD. You can find them all in this Newark Air Museum photo set on the Clutton FRED Flickr pages. According to Mike, they are “still waiting for the builder to fabric the wings.” Personally, I kind of like the wings left uncovered...
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Rick Coombe’s FuzzBee
I stumbled across Rick Coombe’s site about his FRED while combing the web for all things FRED. My query returned an amiable reply from the builder, whose license has lapsed but who has many fond memories of building and flying his FRED. G-BISG is now owned by Rick’s friend Tony Littlefair, who was also the owner of the Rollison Condor in photo above taken at Warborne Farm, Lymington, Hampshire...
January 2010
2 posts
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Bob Hoover on FRED
R.S. “Bob” Hoover (no, not the famous air show pilot, rather the VW-powered homebuilt aircraft guru) is himself a fan of Eric Clutton’s FRED.
In a post on the Yahoo Group Fly5k back in 2005, he said simply, “Eric Clutton’s F.R.E.D. is far more practical for the low-budget homebuilder than most folks realize.” Hoover lauded the inexpensive mild steel fittings, easy towing and suitability...
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Takeoff!
Well, with many thanks to Eric Clutton for his inspiration and to all the FRED fans who have been kind enough to share their photos and ideas, the new Clutton FRED site is up!
Of course, this is a work in progress, and there is much more to do, but it’s a start. Please keep the FRED pics and other materials coming.
Dream, build and fly safely!
Cheers,
Matthew
Photo: G-BGFF takes flight....