Builder Spotlight

Builder Ray Ordorica is in the process of realizing a long-term dream of building the real airplane that he flew as a model during his early years. The project is not without its trials, though, as original plans are not available, and many small mysteries must be solved before the real building can begin; by Ray Ordorica.

In this series installment, author Bob Fritz takes you through the basics of a three-day project you can really use: lightweight fiberglass wheel chocks. The article covers materials, cutting, patterns, foam cutting, eliminating bubbles, and pitfalls to look out for during the build; by Bob Fritz.

If you intend to fly non-precision or precision GPS approaches, you really do need an IFR GPS. This article explains the options available and the legal issues associated with using the latest in-cockpit GPS technology for IFR navigation; by Stein Bruch.

Builders share their successes.

Lancair Aircraft is revolutionizing its already successful turboprop line of kits with the new Evolution, a 750-horsepower, Pratt & Whitney-PT6A-powered, carbon-fiber composite, 380-mph four-seater to be available later this year.

Builder Rick Lindstrom’s Zenith Zodiac 601 XL project continues as the Corvair engine is installed and the panel takes shape. Lindstrom selects instruments and avionics for his project and uses templates to plan the panel.

Ultimate experimenter Paul Lipps has used his own homebuilt, a Lancair 320, as a test bed for his many innovations, which include reflexed flaps, an ultra-long pitot tube for more accurate readings, a solar-powered fan for the cockpit, a cowl scoop for ultra cooling of the magneto, extremely close clearances between the spinner and the prop, and a one-of-a-kind propeller.

In this series installment, author Bob Fritz takes you through the basics of building a carbon fiber tank, including measuring, layout, patterns, cutting, epoxy-flox application, sanding, sawing, epoxying and finish work.

Whether portable handheld or panel-mounted, GPSes are the wave of the future in avionics, and these units can store and display a remarkable amount of detailed information. With nifty docks, handhelds can perform much like the panel-mounts in the cockpit, yet be removed for use in other vehicles.

This brand new power management system harnesses CPU power to eliminate the need for much of an aircrafts wiring by consolidating major electrical functions into a single box. It comprises three units: a display, controller module/panel housing and mag controller. Bundled into the setup are radios, instruments (including GPS, EFIS and engine monitoring) and lights. Each flight phase is broken down into the tasks normally performed manually by the pilot, and the VP-200 addresses them more or less automatically, while also providing override capability in the event of a system failure.