My high school math teacher built one (mostly in his basement during the winter) â he spent a couple of years completing it. I assume that it would be like the balsa wood model that I got as a kid â I would get about 1/4 done and then get bored and try to improvise my own designâŚ
Kit planes are incredibly cool for aviation geeks, I want a one seater (maybe a jet!) for aerobatic flight, I would rather a proven design where you can find a variety of certified A&Es for passengers though. They fall under the experimental rules so you register them as such, donât think you can certify a home built for use by a non-pilot certified passenger though(without ridiculous inspection and probably a sample for the FAA). The manufacturer kits where you drive a few screws under the eye of an engineer is mostly a fun route to a legal waiver of liability so it is harder to sue a manufacturer while still being fully certified for passengers.
I took 11 years to build my plane and it had its first flight in 2012. The term âhomebuiltâ and âexperimentalâ is a bit of a shame because it makes it sound like an âoh, gee, I think Iâll build a plane this weekendâ thing. Itâs a tremendously intellectual exercise in which you are challenged to persevere and learn. Youâre going to put the people you love the most in the plane so youâre not going to do anything haphazard or stupid.
Minnesota, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest seem to be the hotbeds of this activity.
Most everyone I know whoâs built an airplane are anxious to explain the process to anyone whoâs interested in knowing how it can be accomplished.
Any Northern Exposure fans probably remember when Maggie built her own plane and flew it. I loved that show.
âItâs not fun to do this! Your wife leaves you, sheâs in bed with the milkman and youâre âOhhh, whereâs my front suspension unit?ââ - Jeremy Clarkson
Every time my car stalls, and drifts safely to the side of the road, Iâm reminded that my shoddy maintenance habits mean itâs a good thing Iâll never pursue idle dreams of piloting my own plane.
I just did this, actually. I completed building and am in the process of test-flying my RV7. @jlwâs been following the slow but steady progress for a few years now. This is the blog I used for the FAA-required construction log and the video of first takeoff and landing is here.
My friend started building an RV-6 in 1999 and finished it three years ago. He would spend an evening figuring out how to drill two rivet holes, such was his attention to detail. During those twelve years, Vanâs improved their kits tremendously, so that most all of the little stuff he had to figure out for himself is now covered in the instructions.
My favorite: The Falco
http://www.seqair.com/
Sleek, streamlined, its like the Ferrari of BCnF
Great to see this topic popping up here - Iâm completely and totally biased, as I work for the Experimental Aircraft Association (www.eaa.org), the organization dedicated to supporting the homebuilt aircraft world.
We have an RV-6A in our staff flying club, and a group of us are building a Zenith CH 750 on evenings and weekends. Hereâs our blog if anyone wants to have a look: http://zenith750project.com
And lava - I got to fly a Falco F8L (terrible designation, if you pronounce it!) a few years ago, and it was every bit as smooth as you could imagine!
@daemonsquire - bear in mind that, by the time you do actually fly, youâre far, far better trained to deal with emergencies than we ever are as drivers⌠
@stjohn - congrats on the first flight!
Yes, I am mightily impressed that you are getting to certification. I canât believe the plane isnât in your house any more.
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