You don’t necessarily have to build your own airplane to enjoy the benefits of an Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft. A so-called “homebuilt” often has more performance than a similarly sized production-line aircraft and almost always has more modern equipment—all for less money, sometimes far less, than what you’d pay for a much older Cessna or Piper. Even better, as the owner you can make substantial additions and need only to have a licensed A&P mechanic perform the annual condition inspection. The flexibility doesn’t stop with the original builder.
Where do you start? Right here. We’ve assembled some of the most valuable features on buying a flying homebuilt from Dave Prizio, our resident maintenance guru, and other authors. Dave is a Designated Airworthiness Representative and recent winner of the Tony Bingelis Award for dedicated service to the homebuilt community, as well as a multi-time builder himself. Click on the features below to get your research started—and welcome to the family.
