Homebuilt community emphasizes safety

By Aldrich M. Tan • Of The Northwestern • August 1, 2008

The deadly crash of a homebuilt Lancair Legacy airplane was tragic, but in no way reflects on the safety of homebuilt airplanes, plane owners on the AirVenture grounds said Thursday.

Safety has always been a key priority for homebuilt plane owners, said Joe Norris, the Experimental Aircraft Association's homebuilders community manager. It has become even more important as this segment of aviation – 30,000 homebuilt aircraft have been registered by the Federal Aviation Administration – has grown.

"You always want to maintain the integrity of the aircraft and have pride in the machine," said David Novak, of Hortonville, and owner of a homebuilt Skyote, a fixed-wing, single-engine plane.

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When it comes to protecting himself and his plane, a homebuilt Hatz Biplane, Luke Wuest said high standards are the key.

"Let's put it this way," the Oshkosh man said. "My personal standard is higher than the FAA's."

EAA has several programs to encourage homebuilder safety, Norris said. The technical counselor program advises builders on how to meet standard levels of safety.

EAA also has a flight advisor program to help homebuilders test their aircraft and master the safe handling characteristics that they need supposed to have, Norris said.

The number of homebuilt planes is growing as more people see that building such planes is possible and affordable, said Charles Becker, EAA director of member programs, including the homebuilt programs.

AirVenture offers a lot to encourage potential homebuilders, Becker said. There are workshops and forums daily on basic construction techniques.

The Affordable Flying Center, which opened this year, had presentations on how to cut the costs of owning and maintaining an aircraft, Becker said.

For the past two years, Bob Noll, 57, of Yuma, Ariz., drove up to AirVenture in Oshkosh. Seeing people who have been successful at building their own planes inspired him to have a plane of his own.

This year, he flew to Oshkosh in his homebuilt Van's RV-9A, which was recognized on Thursday morning as the 30,000th registered homebuilt airplane by the FAA.

Owning an airplane also opens unique opportunities to travel, said Bill Walbeck, 79, from Kalamazoo, Mich., who flew his Van's RV-6 to the Arctic Circle and went rafting on the Koyuk River.

Walbeck said having a homebuilt airplane has been the most satisfying part of being in aviation.

"It was a blast cutting, putting things together, watching it grow, and to have something all to myself," he said.