![[Credit: Cayla McLeod]](https://planeandpilotmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/10/DSC01853-780x470.jpg)
The Homebuilt Difference
Here’s what you can expect when flying experimental amateur-constructed aircraft.
Homebuilt/Kitbuilt Aircraft
The inventorâs spirit has long lived in the heart of the aviation enthusiast. The dream has been alive since perhaps the dawn of man, but building a flying machine that can carry man into the skies to fly with the birds has only recently become a reality. It is this spirit that drives certain individuals to plan and build their own aircraft regardless of the availability of production aircraft. There has never really been a lull in the experimental movement. As time and technology marches on, the movement continues to gain in popularity and numbers. Design innovation and the availability and use of the most technologically advanced materials has kept the fire burning while opening up doors to efficient structural and aerodynamic design.
Read More »
PHOTOS: A Closer Look At What Just Might Be The World’s Coolest Plane
Mike Patey’s Draco might be the coolest airplane in the world.
Draco: The Coolest Airplane In The World?
Mike Patey built this heavily modded turboprop taildragger to show the world what STOL really means. How he created the ultimate fixed-wing helicopter.
ZENAIR MONO-Z
STANDARD DATA: Gross wt. 960. Empty wt. 630. Fuel capacity 15. Wingspan 22′. Length 19’6″. Engine 100-hp Continental. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 125. Cruise mph 110. Stall mph 48. Climb rate 820. Takeoff run (50′) 1,000. Landing run (50′) 1,000. Range 400. The Mono-Z is a single-place scaled-down version of the original Zenith. It offers maximum […]
VCA-1
STANDARD DATA: Gross wt. 1,100. Empty wt. 710. Fuel capacity 24.5. Wingspan 20′. Length 18′. Engine 100-hp Continental. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 150. Cruise mph 130. Stall mph 57. Climb rate 1,100. Range 200. The VCA-l is a tiny single-seat low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction. The wing section is NASA GA (W)-1 with no sweepback. It […]
TURNER T-40B
STANDARD DATA: Gross wt. 1,600. Empty wt. 828. Fuel capacity 20. Wingspan 22’3″. Length 19’9″. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 175. Cruise mph 155. Stall mph 57. Climb rate 1,200. Takeoff run 850. Landing roll 500. Range 475. The Turner T-40B is basically the same as the T-40A, but with tricycle landing gear and other improvements. Development […]
TURNER T-40A
STANDARD DATA: Gross wt. 1,500. Empty wt. 950.Fuel capacity 20. Wingspan 24’11”. Length 19’5″. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 170. Cruise mph 150. Stall mph 56. Climb rate 1,600. Takeoff run 865. Landing roll 760. Range 520. The T-40 was so successful that it collected 18 awards and convinced Turner that the only thing wrong with it […]
TURNER T-40
STANDARD DATA: Gross wt. 1,050. Empty wt. 750. Fuel capacity 18. Wingspan 22’3″. Length 19’5″. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 170. Cruise mph 145. Stall mph 52. Climb rate 900. Takeoff run 850. Landing roll 750. Range 450. The Turner airplane family got started in 1958. First aircraft in the series was the T-40, a sleek, hot […]
STITS FLUT-R-BUG
STANDARD DATA: Gross wt. 1,032. Empty wt. 575. Wingspan 26′. Length 18′. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 100. Climb rate 1,100 fpm. Stall speed mph 38. Takeoff roll 125′. Wonderfully simple mid-wing two-seat fabric kit. Pre-welded kits sold for $1,100 and plans cost $35 a set. Plans were sold from August 1956 through April 1968. The Flut-R-Bug […]
