Over 80 years since Wilbur and Orville Wright determined they needed a biplane configuration to at last set mankind free from earth's surly bonds, just what we need is another biplane. . . right? Another two-place, tandem, open cockpit, tail draggin' tube and fabric biplane with its ten zillion complicated little parts. . . and an almost equal number of hours needed to build it.

Well, retired architect, occasional farmer and whenever-he-feels-like-it airplane designer, Dudley Kelly (the flip side of "Kelly D") of Versailles, Kentucky, thought civilization as we know it could stand at least one more double winger, IF he could do something to make it possible for a builder to complete his project before his children grew up and made him a grandfather.

The design goal, as it evolved, was to cut down on the number of components things like the center section, the number of ailerons, etc. that would cut down on the time required to build.

Dudley is known for his sly humor and rhetorical flourish, so let's permit him to recall his airplane's not necessarily immaculate conception.

"The date on the first preliminary sketch of the Kelly D is 3/22/77. At that time there was an old biplane in one of the hangars out in the back yard. A new homebuilt was in the other hanger, and a Super Cub was tied down outside in the weather. So, I needed another airplane like I needed another inch or two around the waist.

"However, I did have some free time. A lovely wife had come to spare me the need to make decisions like where I could hang up the clothes that could be worn again, and what I could do with those that should never be worn again. Also, I had walked my nephew out a few feet from the house and indicated with a wave of the arm to the east, `Plow up that field and put it in corn' . . . then with a wave of the arm to the west, `Plow up that field and put it in tobacco'. By tone and gesture it was also made clear that he was competent to handle all other details pertinent thereto.

"Having then finished the farm work for another year, I felt weary, so I ambled on back to the house to collapse into my favorite chair for a much needed rest. But, remaining motionless in a chair is an art that can be cultivated only up to a point. Keeping the arms and legs from moving is one thing, but stopping all motion in the central nervous system is another. Even the minimal activity needed to keep the lungs breathing and the heart beating will still leave an excess of energy. This residue was intended by nature to be channeled into the invention of labor saving devices. Translated into aircraft fittings, it means choosing a shape needing the minimum of hand sawing, filing or drilling. Suppliers already help in this respect by shearing strips of 4130 into varying widths and thicknesses. Soon, the idea of changing as many other things as possible might result in saving even a month of physical labor. In that case, I could take my long-suffering bride deer hunting, mountain climbing, or even white water rafting. After all, wives, too, have special needs and she had never done any of these things.

"But plunging straight ahead with a new design would often waver after a stroll out to the hangar to savour the pretty curve of the wing tips on our homebuilt. The rounded rudder, the rakish gear struts, the shorter bottom wing, the neatly padded cockpits . . . I could never build another airplane that would look any better nor be any more fun to fly, nor bring back memories of the oldtimers that I loved.

"But, ideas to save work continued to multiply and that led to visions of months back working at the drawing board. Now, what was it that I was trying to avoid? Work! Oh well! Sometimes it is called fun. Besides, the doctor told me I might feel better if I could just find something to do.

"The sketches soon progressed until there was no turning back. But why redraw all the nuts and bolts and still have the same airplane, aerodynamically? Why not talk to somebody who knew why airplanes fly? We might at least test out some new theory, or just rearrange things a little.

"Dr. Robert Addoms of Redondo Beach, California now enters the picture, having earned his degree, in part, with a thesis entitled "Aerodynamic and Structural Design Considerations For High Lift Biplane Wing Systems". The interest shown by Dr. Addoms and his skill in explaining technical data led to a pleasant association.

"Finally, the Kelly D landed at Oshkosh late in the afternoon on starting day. A day or so later, standing near our position on the flight line, a gentleman turned to his wife and I barely overheard him say, `That one sure is pretty". Suddenly, I had to reach for my handkerchief to tend to a minor sinus condition. The Kelly D wasn't supposed to be pretty just a little easier to build.

"Most important of all, though, the Kelly D would never have made it to Oshkosh without the tireless efforts of master builder Jim Foster of Shively, Kentucky. Jim built the complete airplane in his spare time in less that two years. He made the first flight. He flew off most of the twenty-five hours. Then he personally delivered it to the `Greatest Show' right on time.

O.K., now let's go back and look more closely at Dudley's efforts to shorten the time it takes to build a biplane. The first priority was straight lines for leading and trailing edges of the tail surfaces (with equal radius rounded corners) and mostly straight runs of tubing in the fuselage frame. The top wing is placed a little higher off the fuselage than other biplanes, which allows the pilot and passenger to climb in and out of the cockpits without the necessity of a cutout in the trailing edge of the upper wing. As already noted, there's no center section often the most complex part of a biplane, particularly if it contains a fuel tank. The Kelly D utilizes an off the shelf Acro Sport tank, available from Wag Aero, so that's one less thing to have to build.

Then, there's just one set of ailerons to build, cover, hinge and actuate... each landing gear leg is a simple tubular V designed to be built without the aid of jigs and the gear's shock system is a spring in compression on each side, requiring no maintenance to speak of.

The recommended engine is the Lycoming 0-235 of 108 to 115 horsepower, depending on the model used, however, the prototype is fitted with an 0-290 (125 hp).

Construction of the Kelly D is traditional steel tube fuselage with some wood formers and stringers to fair it to shape, steel tube tail surfaces and all-wood wings. The entire airframe is fabric covered, with the usual exception of the cowling and first bay of the fuselage which are, of course, sheet aluminum.

Stits fabric was used on the fuselage of the prototype and Razorback was used on the wings.

The builder, Jim Foster, made the first flight during Christmas of 1981, however, the plane was down for a time afterwards as the usual fine tuning of rigging, etc., was accomplished. Once flying again in early 1982, it was turned over to Bob Livingston of Shively, KY to open up the performance envelope. An aerobatic and air show pilot, Bob put the airplane through a program of loops, rolls and spins that involved pullouts to 160 mph indicated and 4 Gs. The Kelly D was not designed to be an aerobatic airplane, but it has the inherent agility and structural integrity for the basic maneuvers it has the power to accomplish.

Span of the prototype is 26' 6" and the length is 19' 3". Empty weight is 1000 pounds and gross is 1500. Cruise with the 0-290 is 97 mph and the plane lands at about 55. It's a short field airplane, comfortably at home on the little backyard, cow pasture strips that are making a big comeback all around the U. S. in response to $2.00 per gallon avgas and outrageously high hangar rents. The Kelly D prototype has flown most of its time thus far on auto fuel with no problems experienced.

So, if you want a straight forward 2-place, open cockpit biplane with emphasis on building ease, cockpit room, short field performance and operating economy, you should add the Kelly D to your shopping list. Plans should be available by the time you are reading this. For information, write: Dudley Kelly, Rt. 4, Versailles, KY 40383.

Editor's note: That address is from 1982 and has changed to: