Experimentals

According to the Experimental Aircraft Association, the FAA has “released a policy that will make it easier for some owners of experimental aircraft to obtain special flight permits (SFPs) for their airplanes in order to reposition them for condition inspections.” The change comes in the form of allowing certain designated airworthiness representatives (DARs) to “remotely […]

With the opportunity for would-be builders of the Zenith kit aircraft scuttled by COVID-19, the company has taken the initiative to “virtualize” several of its programs, including the rudder workshop course and now its demo flights. Company pilot Roger Dubbert provides a running narrative of a demo flight in Zenith’s CH 750 “Sky Jeep,” the […]

This story originally ran in KITPLANES. By Scott Spangler Concretely explaining why a specific airplane appeals to a pilot is almost as easy as explaining why they fly. All Bob Bounds really knew when he first saw Fred Keller’s Prospector STOL, named Plansbuilt Grand Champion at EAA Oshkosh 1989, is that he wanted one. “I […]

This story originally appeared in KITPLANES. By Scott M. Spangler America’s car culture has inculcated consumers of almost every conceivable product to expect, desire, and demand a new model every year. “Do we really need to do that?” asked John McBean, president of Kitfox Aircraft. “Ford comes out with a new F-150 pickup every year, […]

This story originally appeared in KITPLANES. By Ken Scott The Moose, designed and sold by Murphy Aircraft of Chilliwack, British Columbia, is one of the few kit airplanes designed to haul large loads in and out of unimproved strips—it’s a kind of Experimental-category deHavilland Beaver. Over a hundred Moose (Mooses? Meece?) have flown, but up […]

Instead of canceling an upcoming builder workshop, kit manufacturer Zenith Aircraft has turned it into a virtual affair. Zenith has been running a hands-on workshop for prospective builders for decades, but this one is, obviously, different. “Instead of participants traveling to our factory to attend the rudder build workshop,” says Zenith’s Sebastien Heintz, “we will […]

This story, as part of a series on building the SubSonex, originally appeared in KITPLANES. There comes a day in every airplane build where there is nothing left to do but fill it with fuel, get in and take it aloft. But between the time when you have turned the last bolt and applied the […]

While Boeing and Textron have shut down manufacturing facilities already, it’s not yet the same for smaller manufacturers and service providers. Many small manufacturers have been able to stay open with a combination of work-from-home employees, reconfigured manufacturing layouts, staggered shifts and other tweaks. While everyone has seen temporary hits to productivity, these smaller companies […]

By Doug Rozendaal Photos: Joe Copalman, Mariano Rosales, Courtesy Legend Aircraft This story originally appeared in KITPLANES. “It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.” This well-known phrase, attributed to such luminaries as Walt Whitman and Bear Bryant, applies here as well as it does anywhere else you’ve seen it. In the words that follow there may […]

Superior Air Parts has settled the lawsuit stemming from a 2016 crash of a Van’s RV-8A experimental following catastrophic failure of the XP-400 engine. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Superior settled for $5 million in the crash of builder/owner Dane Sheahen and passenger James Kos in March of 2016; both men were killed […]