2019 Homebuilt Aircraft Directory
Table of Content
That constant improvement in basic kits—including more and doing more of the work at the factory, which the market has definitely responded to—has raised the price floor. With more builders demanding quickbuild options and willing to pay for them, you can hardly blame them. I wanted to do the experiment and prove that it worked. To do that I had to both design and build the airplane.
Instead, at this price level for a new kitbuilt, we’re talking basic, fun airplanes meant for good-weather flying. But, if you think about it, that’s where many of us started, making a light, simple airplane a welcome bit of homecoming for experienced pilots. The key here is to keep the endpoint of the project in mind—what does the design want to be? Avoiding mission creep is the only way to stay within a modest budget. Paul Dye, KITPLANES® Editor at Large, retired as a Lead Flight Director for NASA’s Human Space Flight program, with 40 years of aerospace experience on everything from Cubs to the Space Shuttle.
First Customer-Built Bearhawk Companion Completed
Wing area is just 86 square feet, giving good wing loading for the 1600-pound max gross weight. A similarly sized Van’s RV-6 weighs the same but has more wing. A year later, I passed my flight test for my Private Pilot license and started work on my mechanical and aerospace engineering bachelors degree at Cornell. I started sketching delta-winged light-plane concepts and used my newly acquired engineering knowledge to analyze their performance.
Ultralights are an affordable and fun way for aviation enthusiasts – amateur flyers and professional pilots, to experience the joys of no-frills open-air flights. There are different models and brands of ultralight aircraft to choose from, depending on your wallet size and experience level. Acquiring your first ultralight aircraft can be a daunting process, and later in this article, we will take a closer look at each of the most popular ultralight aircraft models. Ultralight aircraft are renowned for delivering the purest flying experiences, which is the primary reason for their continued popularity. The Dakota Hawk can use a number of popular engines, from the stalwart Continental C-90/O-200 family to the Rotax 912 and 912S, on up to the Jabiru 3300. On the 80-hp 912, the Dakota Hawk’s performance is listed as 90–100 mph cruise and a climb rate of 800 to 1000 fpm.
Van’s Aircraft RV-4
The Pterodactyl Ascender was produced briefly during the 1980s with a total production of 1,400 units. DFE Ultralights are currently building it as the DFE Ascender III series. A roomy cockpit with a stacked instrument panel consisting of GPS, altimeter, compass, airspeed indicator, altimeter, and full EFIF with the artificial horizon. Genuine flaps allow for a better climb rate and reduced landing distance.
These modifications are not ones I would recommend to a first-time builder, at least not the flap change, because such changes tend to complicate and extend the building process. My previous planes were all built according to the plans, although I did later switch my first GlaStar to conventional gear from its original tricycle configuration. It is only now, on my fourth project, that I am customizing things from the beginning. With the experience gained from my previous projects, I am confident that my end result will be what I want, but I am not so sure I would have been ready to try this before. 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.
Best Ultralight Aircraft for the Money 2020
This kit assembly aircraft is available in three and four-wheel models with a 360 sq ft. chute as standard. It's one thing to do a 3 square feet of a model airplane, entirely different to do 360 square feet. And iron is not practical and does not shrink the material up enough to yield the quality of a heat gun.
The path that led to the Facetmobile started many years before actual construction. I am a designer and innovator both by profession and inclination. I remember getting my first issue of Sport Aviation when I joined EAA at the age of 16 and thinking that someday I wanted one of my designs to grace the cover. People say that the nice thing about the RV-3B is the quality of the social experience, knowing that it’s a single-seater.
For me, the Facetmobile project was as much about the experiment and the exploration of a new design approach as it was about building simply to have the airplane. In that, it was a complete success, in spite of its relatively short flying life. I remember thinking after I flew it to Oshkosh that even if it never flew again, it had all been worthwhile. I used the knowledge I gained during the project in my professional life, and I am currently working on the design of the Facetmobile’s long-delayed successor. If fate is kind, perhaps it too will make it to Oshkosh someday. For most of us, it is the single biggest draw on our resources other than taking care of necessities and our families.
Too bad you can no longer find new plans for this one, and kits have never been offered. You could possibly find used plans and buy some parts for the Long-ez which is a modification of the VariEze. When considering your options, rank the merits of each aircraft and compare them using the Ultralight News’ handy 10-point system for rating ultralight aircraft. This will walk you through exactly what to look for and what to avoid when selecting your next ultralight. Soon you will take to the air flying the best ultralight aircraft for the money. The second category of ultralight aircraft is two place or two seaters.
We’re highlighting the CH 650 in part because it’s become a little overshadowed by the high-wing CH 701 and 750 designs. Zenith says the 650 will cruise at 155–160 mph true airspeed at 8000 feet on around 100 hp. Like most Zenith models, the 650 can use a wide range of engines, with support for the Jabiru 3300, Rotax 912S, ULPower, Continental O-200 and Lycoming O-235. Although a bit heavier, the O-200 and O-235 options may be a tantalizing choice since these engines are more widely available used than either the Jabiru or Rotax. John Thorp’s T-18 is nearly 60 years old, but it continues on with Thorp Central as the S-18. It’s also unusual in the homebuilt world for having an all-flying stabilator tail—something Thorp had experience with during the development of the Piper Cherokee.
Where the similarly tandem RV-8 tends to end up more complex—more powerful, faster, heavier and costlier—the RV-4 seems perfectly happy in its role as a fly-for-fun design. Perfectly contented with 150–160 hp, the RV-4 is amazingly efficient, doing better than 200 mph on fuel flows that mean 32 gallons of fuel is generous, not stingy. European Union aviation regulations require a light aircraft pilot license LAPL before you can pilot an ultralight aircraft.
When Houston and I visited Paul “Bugsy” Gardetto, two of his sons showed Houston and me how to shape, work, and rivet Alclad…our very first aircraft pieces. At about 30 cubic feet, it’s not only enormous for a Light Sport Aircraft , it’s enormous for any two seat airplane. As one might expect, the space is, shall we say, density sensitive. Gross weight and center-of-gravity limits are obviously governing factors. That said, if there were a contest for two-seaters to see which one holds the most popcorn or ping-pong balls, the Jabiru would win hands down.
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