Robert E. Barber

Sky Polaris-a historic flight in an RV-8, part 2.

With Lancair’s factory-authorized builder assistance program, new Evo owners Wendell and Martha Solesbee get a leg up on their project. Custom jigs and extra hands take weeks off the build time and ensure they’re ready for the next steps.

The very first Van’s prototype flies again, thanks to months of volunteers’ hard work, and its designer climbs back into the cockpit, some five decades after he built it.

Should A&Ps also get a repairman certificate, using multiple pilots for Phase 1 testing, putting E/AB wings on a certificated fuselage.