Greetings, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty has always admired, supported and encouraged people who want to build their own aircraft. Because we believe you can never say enough about the values and virtues of homebuilding, we have decided to share a variety of Perspectives on Homebuilding with any and all who enjoy reading about that subject. It's free. To launch the program we present the perspectives of two individuals who need no introduction: Paul and Tom Poberezny. We are honored to initiate Perspectives on Homebuilding with commentary by the two individuals who have dedicated their lives and contributed the most to the development of sport aviation. In the future we will be sharing the perspectives of kit manufacturers, designers, and the people who are expanding the flight line with their wonderful homebuilt projects. If you are thinking about building an aircraft, or if you're in the middle of a project, you'll want to be a regular monthly visitor to Aircraft Spruce & Specialties' Perspectives on Homebuilding. Happy Landings! Jim Irwin, President Aircraft Spruce & Specialty https://www.aircraftspruce.com/ Mon, 2 Apr 2012 14:40:22 -0700 Tues, 24 Apr 2013 14:38:29 -0700 Within the sport aviation world, the term composite aircraft is synonymous with sleekness of design and speed. These airplanes, composed largely of fiberglass, are becoming more and more popular. Actually, composite aircraft construction is not a new idea. Gliders have been constructed using fiberglass for many years. Throughout aviation history, advances in design have been made. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/compconstr.php 30 Apr 2013 11:44:29 -0700 All of us are aware that the aircraft we fly must have an airworthiness certificate. Usually this certificate will be a Standard Airworthiness certificate issued when the aircraft is manufactured. What about experimental airplanes that are constructed by an individual? Do you have to have an airworthiness certificate on board that type airplane? What does the word "experimental" mean when used in reference to aircraft? We hear "experimental" used within the sport aviation industry on a regular basis. The most common use of the word "experimental" applies to a classification of an airworthiness certificate used for an amateur-built airplane. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/Buildaplane2.php 30 Apr 2013 11:38:29 -0700 So, now that you have decided that you are going to build your own airplane the next step is to determine which particular airplane you want to build. Prior to making this decision the following should have taken place: (1) You have established that you are interested in building an airplane,(2) You have answered the question why build an airplane?(3) From a broad perspective you have determined what is available to build.(4) You should have reviewed the question https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/whattobuild.php 30 Apr 2013 11:30:29 -0700 The flight home began early on the last day of AirVenture. Andy Werback took the active runway, advanced the throttle and headed west. In the eight+ hours of flying it would take to get back to his home in Sebastopol, one has to wonder how many times he glanced at the Gold Lindy trophy near him and smiled. "Grand Champion Kit Built". Among the hundreds of homebuilts at AirVenture, Andy stood out. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/awerback.php Fri, 2 Nov 2012 10:39:19 -0300 Ron Alexander was born in 1942 in Bloomington, Indiana. At the age of 14, he took his first airplane ride in a miltary C-119 as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. Shortly after that flight he began flying with other CAP members in a PA.-18. When Ron was 16 years old, he soloed an Aeronca Champ. Ron worked at the Bloomington, Indiana airport during high school and obtained his private license at age 17. He entered Indiana University in 1960 while working for a fixed base operator to obtain his commercial license. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/ron_alexander.php Fri, 2 Nov 2012 10:38:19 -0300 There have been over 500 designs for homebuilt aircraft over the past six decades, the majority being for single hole and two-place aircraft. It's unlikely that there have been 15 four-seat designs, and not many have enjoyed any kind of success as kits. Very few have shown up at Oshkosh. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pdf/ChrisLucas.pdf Wed, 20 Sep 2012 11:38:19 -0300 One of Tom Hamilton's last designs before moving into commercial aviation was the GlaStar. After selling the company to the employees they made some significant changes to the design and relabeled it the Sportsman 2 + 2. When the company was sold to Tom Wathen and placed in the hands of Mikael Via, the decision was made to launch a program no had ever envisioned before: Three Weeks to Taxi. Experience provided efficiencies and the name changed to Two Weeks to Taxi. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/JoeBrown.pdf Tues, 20 Aug 2012 14:38:29 -0400 While he was in high school, Alan Klapmeier told his friends that he wanted to design and build airplanes. Determined and tenacious, he never wavered in his commitment. In the summer of 1976, after graduating from high school, Alan went to Oshkosh to look at homebuilts. That fall he went to Ripon College in Wisconsin where he majored in Economics and minored in Physics. While there, he met Jeff Viken, a fellow student majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pdf/KlapmeierBrothers.pdf Wed, 8 Aug 2012 12:36:29 -0700 There have been a number of manufacturer's associations out there over time, including GAMA, LAMA, and SAMA. Now comes AKIA, the organization that focuses entirely on the homebuilt aircraft industry. It's no easy matter to bring together a group of successful and opinionated leaders from the companies that make homebuilding what it is today, but the challenge is somewhat ameliorated by the common interest and commercial that they all have in the issues relating to Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft safety. The record is not good. It could be improved. It will. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pdf/AKIA.pdf Tues, 24 Jul 2012 14:38:29 -0700 The Sonex is a two-seat aluminum aircraft designed by John Monnett and sold in kit form by Sonex Aircraft. Like most of John's designs, the aircraft is aerobatic, easy to build and fun to fly. Today a complete Sonex kit costs $27,670. That includes an 80 hp Aero Vee engine kit. There are two other powerplant options: the 80 hp Jabiru and the 120 hp Jabiru. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/AKnight_Final.pdf Wed, 20 June 2012 09:35:19 -0700 The two-seat Kitfox, in all its variations, has become a homebuilding classic. It's estimated that over 5,000 kits have been shipped worldwide. Thousands have entered the FAA Registry as airworthy copies. Designed by Dan Denney and introduced at Oshkosh in 1984, the original Kitfox, model 1, was small, light and it sported a round bump cowling that gave the aircraft the look of an antique. With its folding wings, it became an instant success, purchased by people who saw something of their childhood in its lines and configuration. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/JimMiller_Final.pdf Wed, 20 June 2012 09:37:19 -0700 The Breezy looks like an airplane that had a happy encounter with a radio tower. After 45 years, it's still one of those "Oh-my-gosh" airplanes that inspire awe, giggles and the desire to go flying all at once. Indeed, Carl Unger has taken thousands of smiling attendees up for the flight of a lifetime since he first arrived at the EAA Fly-In in Rockford, back in 1965 perched on the front end of his Breezy. The aircraft was actually built by Carl and two other EAA members, Charley Roloff and Bob Liposky, as a lark. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/JoeDory_Final.pdf Thu, 15 May 2012 16:38:19 -0700 Today there are over 30,000 homebuilt aircraft on the FAA's registry. It's estimated there may be another 30,000 under construction. Some builders opt to just buy a set of plans and then go hunting for aircraft grade materials to cut up, piece together and roll it onto the flight line. That's called Scratchbuilding and it involves a lot of fabricating and assembly. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/BuildaPlaneFinal.pdf Thu, 7 May 2012 09:58:29 -0700 Those who know John Monnett would say he has an acerbic wit and sometimes acts like a relative of Don Rickles. But he's also a genius, passionate about flying and far more clever than a room full of Boeing engineers. John Monnett has had a fascinating career in aviation without any formal training. He's more of an artist than engineer and yet he builds better mousetraps. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/JohnM_Final.pdf Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:58:29 -0700 Though he's spent the last two decades designing missiles for the Navy, the Kodiak for Quest Aircraft and has become the world leader in composite float production, Tom Hamilton still stands out in the homebuilt community for what he accomplished with the Glasair and GlaStar series of airplane kits. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/TomH_Final.pdf Mon, 2 Apr 2012 14:38:29 -0700 On the home page of the Van's Aircraft website, there is a replica of a Hobbs Meter. It doesn't count hours; however, it counts aircraft completions...the number of RVs that have been finished and flown. The count this afternoon was 7,607! No other design in the homebuilt movement has come close to that. What's equally amazing is that the number of RVs currently under construction (or abandoned) may exceed that total. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/DickVGFinal.pdf Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:36:40 -0700 Burt Rutan's list of airplanes designed and flown (45), of honorary Doctoral Degrees (6!), of national and international awards (112 not counting the milk drinking contest he won at the age of 12), of patents held (7), and of design projects related to aviation in some way (several hundred) takes up 11 pages! https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/BurtR3_1.pdf Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:36:07 -0700 Thirty-five years ago, Frank Christensen started a revolution. He introduced his kit for the Eagle aerobatic biplane at the 1977 EAA Fly-In, and with that, he changed the image of homebuilding. Prior to that historic annual Fly-In Convention, no one had ever seen or even envisioned anything like the Eagle kit. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/Frank5Final.pdf Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:35:01 -0700 Paul Poberezny was the founding president of the Experimental Aircraft Association from its creation in 1953, until he resigned in 1989. He then became Chairman of the Board, a position he held until 2010. Though he wasn't the first person to build and fly his own airplane, he inspired tens of thousands of others to do what he had done: buy a set of plans, seek out the right kind of aircraft grade materials, build the airplane and then fly it. He made it look easy. Today there are over 30,000 Experimental Amateur-Built aircraft in the FAA Registry. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/PaulStory4s.pdf Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:28:38 -0700 When Tom Poberezny assumed the leadership of EAA as its second president in 1989, he brought a new set of skills, a fresh perspective and a determination to expand the EAA culture. As a result of what Tom brought to the table, EAA entered a new era. It matured. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/TomStory3s.pdf Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:28:39 -0700 He's the best man for the job. It's doubtful that any man has taken the reins at FLYING with the kind of rich background Robert Goyer brings to the head quill. Robert was born into it. His family was already deeply involved in aviation by the time he arrived. While his dad, Norman Goyer, was working as a news director at a regional ABC affiliate in Western Massachusetts, he spent many weekends with the family at the friendly grass strip at Pilgrim Field in Hatfield, MA. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/RobertStory3.pdf Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:28:40 -0700