Tag: Christen Eagle

When you build your own airplane, you get to design the cockpit you've always wanted, from the ground up. But facing that blank slate can be challenging and calls for a thoughtful approach.

If you need to send a part out to be built by a professional shop, a good drawing, well identified, is essential. The KISS principle applies, and be sure you don't request closer tolerances or more exotic materials than you really need, or it will cost you.

Its said that sailors make good floatplane pilots because they understand the nature of wind on the water. Sailboat racer and pilot Rick Orchard took that sentiment to heart in a big way when he decided to pump up an already large homebuilt (the Murphy Moose) by adding Aerocet amphibious floats and a 550-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 turbine engine.

This month’s column is not about unmotivated or overaged adolescents living in Mom’s basement,...