However, regardless of how impressed I was, the critical hurdle in the buying decision came next—the wife’s ride. I’ve never flown one. Sharon Starks in her Airdrome Aeroplanes Morane-Saulnier “L” Parasol makes a pass with Dick Starks in his Graham Lee Nieuport 11 replica. Certainly, every builder can find his or her own path, even on the first project, but sticking to the tried and true is a pretty good idea until more experience has been gained. A number of the parts need to be tweaked before they fit, and the plans, while sufficient, are not always well organized, complete, or ample. Sonex Aircraft, LLC is seeking both Full-Time and Part-Time Mechanics, Technicians and Assemblers to fulfill the growing demand for Sonex Aircraft Quick Build Kits and Sonex Aerospace Unmanned Vehicles. Aluminum Cabin and Aluminum Rear Fuselage The Belite Kit is straightforward aluminum construction. People say that the RV-3B handles well. • “No surprises,” she said, to which I asked for further clarification. I don’t think there are many that can outperform the RV-8 in all areas. An RV project was simply the right choice for my situation. I still feel that itch, but scratching it has been an absolute blast. Follow the process others have taken to get to their perfect airplane—and we look forward to seeing what you got when we see you at the airport! The Speed of Building, the Speed of Flight The Economical KR System. At about 30 cubic feet, it’s not only enormous for a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), it’s enormous for any two seat airplane. An aircraft named Kelli Girl was always going to take flight. Try to keep it as light and simple as you can. The seminar I attended in 2015 covered everything from tuning to cooling, as well as complete teardown and assembly. To enhance the GlaStar’s backcountry performance I have invested in some extended heavy-duty landing gear, some bigger tires, and a T3 tailwheel setup. For someone not used to small kit aircraft manufacturing, the “factory” was a bit underwhelming: a single hangar filled with Rocket parts and the promise of flight. Find the way…. That left the RV-7 and -8. I explain the controls (or lack thereof) and what it is like to fly. Around that time I discovered www.VansAirForce.net, and Paul Dye and Louise Hose were discussing the construction of their RV-3B, and this got me interested in that airplane. N207KS was the 207th RV-6 kit sold out of more than 6000. For my first attempt to build and fly an E/A-B, I chose the aircraft line with the higher percentage of successfully completed projects. This was it. One memorable day, Tom and I got passed by a dump truck on a gravel road! People should say that because it’s true. My choices? I ordered info packs for three different airplanes ($5.00 to $8.00 each…I really had to think about that) and tore them open eagerly when they arrived. Some pages or functions may not work correctly. But the sailboat taught me something pertinent: I preferred non-engine activities to engine ones. Shop All Products. I could buy one of those and have the fun of shutting down the motor, too. Tom became a machinist for TWA. With its O-540 Lycoming, it climbs at 2500 fpm, cruises at 150 mph, and has a 350-foot takeoff roll. I roll and pitch aggressively on nearly all flights but don’t need tiddlywink aerobatics. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission banned Bede from accepting aircraft kit investments for a period of 10 years. I thought his airplanes, with expensive Lycoming engines, were out of my financial reach. If fate is kind, perhaps it too will make it to Oshkosh someday. But the itch never manifested itself until 22 years into my Air Force career. I had been around plansbuilt sport plane construction enough to know there was no way I was going to survive 6000 hours of that. The skins didn’t have prepunched holes, for example, and some of the parts didn’t fit as well as they might have. A complete step by step video guide for builders of the popular Zenith CH701 aircraft kit. Founded in 1983, based in Hays, KS. With its 21ft length it's a bit bugger than … Then I tried the GlaStar, and I knew it was the plane for me. But after spending the majority of my adult life building and flying experimental airplanes, my advice is that if you want to build an airplane, buy a kit. When Kend Rand designed his KR-1 in 1972, he also pioneered a state-of-the-art foam-and-fiberglass composite construction method which has now become standard in homebuilt, commercial, and military aircraft. I think a total of seven or eight of those airplanes—combined—were ever finished. After five years and 2500 hours of construction, the RV-8 does exactly what I wanted it to. These planes cruise at speeds around 170kts and only burn about 5 gallons per hour. Then we looked at the mission: sport flying (gentleman’s aerobatics and formation) plus speedy VFR cross-country. I received builder number 20207. to build one. Possessed of only modest fabricating skills and buried under magazine deadlines, two kids, and a mortgage, there was no hope of building my own plane. I had toyed with the idea of building a Starduster Too, but the impracticality of an open cockpit bi-wing airplane turned me in another direction. I remember thinking after I flew it to Oshkosh that even if it never flew again, it had all been worthwhile. $205.85. That has been more expensive and more technically difficult than I expected, but experimental aviation is all about education and recreation. Is the Jabiru perfect? And I couldn’t really say that I needed either of those; after all, I’d sold a Kolb precisely because I wasn’t flying it. (Tom and I take scrounging to a new Olympic level. That motivation is as personal as the individual builder. My wife Kelli settled it for me when I asked her if she had anything in mind for her aircraft (if I maintain it, she lets me borrow it). Experimental/Hybrid Aircraft for Sale : View our entire inventory of New Or Used Experimental/Hybrid airplanes and even a few new non-current models on AeroTrader.com. The canopy choice (slider versus tip-up) was easy for me. Dude! The best part of any day on the water was when I got to shut the motor off. Well…It took 39 years, but the one about flying my own WW-I fighter plane finally came through. An example of high-end homebuilt design is Lancair, which has developed a number of high-performance kits. Yes, after sailing for a decade, I gave it up; the ocean was too far away from the mountains of Colorado. You’ve got to love a wife who asks for an airplane to be built. Sid Mayeux’s wife Kelli poses with Kelli Girl. I had looked longingly at a Carbon Cub, and I do truly love that plane, but in the end two things moved me away from it toward another GlaStar. When it comes to choosing the right airplane, there are many considerations. For me it was not worth the effort to simply reproduce what had been done before. I didn’t plan to build an RV-3B. Revised Listing of Amateur Built Aircraft Kits But if all things weren’t equal, maybe not. Now, after several big mods (constant-speed prop, IFR upgrade, dual P-MAGs), we have logged over 550 Hobbs hours in just over three years and are preparing for our third trip to Oshkosh. Someday I might own another airplane. There’s a world of satisfaction and pleasure in building a kit aircraft, without the grinding grunt work. Sonex Aircraft offers specialized transport services for Quick Build Kits to most regions of the lower 48 United States through carriers like Stewart Transport, an exceptionally reputable and experienced carrier specializing in the transport of quick build kits for multiple homebuilt aircraft companies, and kit car manufacturer Factory Five Racing.Sonex Aircraft also uses PODS containers for shipping Quick Build Kits … Yes, I know you can put up to 200 pounds in the Cessna, while the Jabiru, with two people and less than a full load of fuel, holds maybe 30 or 40 pounds of cargo (your results may vary). As for the Starduster design, it’s been perfect for me. But when the plane came back for a landing, she bounded out of the cockpit and declared, “Wow! One of the things I really enjoy is flying around puffy white clouds (at a legal distance, of course!). This project must wait.
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