Choosing Your Homebuilt: The One You'll Finish and Fly

Why are homebuilt plans and kits vastly outselling production aircraft?

Higher performance is one reason. (What production airplane will cruise at more than 230 mph on 200 hp?) Sounds great -- but there are pitfalls to be avoided. The fact is, up to 90 percent of homebuilt projects are not completed by the original builder¾and many are never finished at all!

Choosing Your Homebuilt was written by aviation writer and homebuilder Kenneth Armstrong to help you decide whether homebuilding is truly for you and to help you choose, from the many available kits and plans, a plane you will enjoy building and flying. This valuable book covers the subjects you need to know in order to make the right decision: Can you build it? Can you fly it? Can you afford it? Should you build from a plans, kit, or materials package? Other chapters are filled with valuable information on engines, autogas, avionics, regulations, and insurance. In addition, there are reports on more than 50 aircraft, including performance and specification charts -- and much more! Before you invest thousands of dollars and months or years of your time, get this book. Tom Poberezny, President of the Experimental Aircraft Association states that Choosing Your Homebuilt “Provides information that will be invaluable in making ‘the right choice’ for you.” If you’re considering building a plane – or if you’re just interested in the experimental aircraft phenomenon that draws nearly a million people to Oshkosh, Wisconsin every year and represents the true state-of-the-art of airplane design and construction – this book will be a great read for you. Its 360 pages are filled with easy-to-understand descriptions, plus many photos and charts. Choosing Your Homebuilt will tell you what you need to know about homebuilding and can save you from making costly mistakes. If you’re interested in homebuilt aircraft, you need this book!

The Royal Canadian Air Force introduced Ken Armstrong to piloting, where he first served as a multi-engine instructor and then flew helicopters operationally. The author held positions as Cessna Sales Manager and Chief Pilot of various aviation organizations. He currently serves as a director of the Recreational Aircraft Association, COPA, and as an EAA Flight Advisor.

Armstrong's homebuilt aircraft have included a Baby Great Lakes, two BD-4s, a Volksplane, Monnett Moni, Sonerai II LTS, and a Cozy under construction. He pioneered Canadian homebuilt helicopter crop spraying with a RotorWay Exec.

He has been published in numerous aviation magazines and newsletters worldwide, including KITPLANES, Plane & Pilot, Sport Pilot, Professional Pilot, Hot Kits & Homebuilts, Canadian Homebuilt Aviation News, EAA Flight Advisor, and Sport Flying. His flying credentials include Single, Multi-Engine, Land and Sea (SMELS), Instructor, Instrument endorsements, and over 250 types flown during 12,000 flight hours on three international licenses. Earlier editions of this book won him the Kathryn Gamble Award for “Outstanding Achievement” and Canada's highest aviation honor, the 1996 Aviation Safety Award, “for exceptional contributions to the promotion of aviation safety.”