If you're also dreaming that special dream of not only flying, but doing so in a homebuilt aircraft you built yourself, then maybe it's time to start looking closely at the available options!
As the many builders' tales inform us, building an aeroplane - even from a complete kit - isn't a walk in the park. It is a major project which mostly lasts a number of years, with many ups and downs in between.
There are many things to consider: what kind of flying you will be doing; where will you be flying; how much can you spend on the kit and building project?
However, one of the very first considerations many prospective homebuilt aircraft pilots will want to take into account, is the kind of materials they will be working with.
There are a number of basic different homebuilt aircraft types, and it will probably save you a lot of future frustrations to make sure that you are comfortable with the building material of the specific aircraft you intend to build.
The first type of homebuilt aircraft is that made of plywood and spruce. These homebuilts are still popular as many a prospective builder is familiar with elements of woodwork.
One popular example of this type of construction is the Pietenpol Air Camper, which is considered by some to be the father of the homebuilt aircraft. The "Piet" is still built from the original plans first published in 1932!
To help you along with your homebuilt aircraft project you will find specialised suppliers of a number of components for the Air Camper, such as the welded parts, and even complete ribs for the wings.
Another popular type of homebuilt aircraft is constructed from chromium-molybdenum alloy tubing covered with dacron. A popular homebuilt is the Warner Revolution.
As a lot of time can be spent on jigs to prevent the airframe of the Warner Revolution from warping during the welding process, the company has made it possible to order a prewelded kit. The kit includes the landing gear, motor mount, wing braces, the control stick assembly, rudder pedals and the fuselage.
This particular homebuilt aircraft also involves some woodwork and work with aluminum.
Always popular is aluminum-alloy sheet-metal construction because of many advantages over methods involving wood, tubing and fabric. The main reason is that aluminum construction combines the structural framework needed for strength and the skin needed for aerodinamic shape. This makes for a very efficient and economic construction process.
Compared to wood and fabric, aluminum is also less delicate and less susceptible to damage from UV rays and moisture, making maintenance much easier over time.
Another advantage of the aluminum-alloy sheet-metal method is that there is no need for special work conditions such as a dust-free or temperature-controlled construction area.
An extremely popular homebuilt aircraft utilizing this method is the CH701 of Zenith Aircraft. It is available in kit form, both as a complete kit and as partial kits for those who want to spread the costs (and the effort!) over time.
Lastly, composite homebuilts are very popular, and have grown ever more so thanks to the increasing fame of some of the very successful aeroplanes of this type.
If you want high performance and very innovative and sleek looks, you can consider a composite homebuilt aircraft such as Rutan's Vari-EZ, or Mike Arnold's AR-5 that is said to get 213mph on 65hp!
This type of construction makes use of fiberglass or carbon fiber, impregnated with an epoxy resin, and you will need to be comfortable with a slow building process that involves lots of dust and fumes!
Once you've decided which type of building process you will be most comfortable with, it's time to go and have a look at the many different homebuilt aircraft options available, keeping in mind the other important questions of how and where you will be flying!
