KITPLANES editor Marc Cook talks with EAA’s Sean Elliott and Tom Charpentier about the proposed changes to Experimental Phase I flight test that could offer an alternative to 25- or 40-hour flight test programs. These changes could dramatically shorten Phase I flight test while also making it more effective for the builder and subsequent owners of any amateur-built aircraft.
![Kit Building Then and Now Aircraft designs now can be built in a fraction of the time necessary in the early days of homebuilding. [Credit: Adobe Stock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AdobeStock_1336488-218x150.jpg)











