![]() Too many, according to the FAA, which made Christensen stop supplying a complete set of finished wing ribs so that the builder could do more of the work. This two-seat aerobatic plane came with a new engine, an 8-foot stack of manuals, and many beautifully finished parts. Thousands of plans were sold, and hundreds of aircraft were built.Ī few kits were introduced, but Frank Christensen achieved a breakthrough with his Christen Eagle II biplane kit in the 1970s. Craftsmen’s magazines published cover stories about inexpensive aircraft you could build in your garage. Official government sanction of the hobby was followed in 1953 by the founding of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) by Paul Poberezny, Ray Stits and others. The official justification for permitting homebuilt aircraft was and still is education and recreation. But by 1947, Congress officially approved the licensing of homebuilt aircraft, subject to a federally regulated inspection program. The gathering storms of war may have influenced that decision. government had decided that homebuilding was not an appropriate activity. AirCam on final approach.īy the late ’30s, the U.S. Pietenpol Air Campers are still being built, and scores of them are flying. And in the ’30s, Bernie Pietenpol’s Air Camper two-seater, powered by a Model A Ford engine, spurred hundreds to buy plans and build their own Air Campers. ![]() Dating from the 1920s, his Heath Parasol is still remembered. But there were a few individual builders including Ed Heath, who is credited with one of the first airplanes in kit form. WW-I moved airplane manufacturing out of garages and into factories, and the quest for speed and for commercial and military use of airplanes overshadowed the individual sport airplane builder. ![]() They were what we think of today as homebuilts, which distinguishes them from mass-produced, FAA-certified, factory-built aircraft. History’s first aircraft were, for the most part, designed and built by individuals or a small group of experimenters.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |