Two Weeks to Taxi was kicked off in late 2005. The program began in 2004 where only the airframe was completed in 18 days. But the program quickly evolved, and through an ingenious feat of organization and efficiency, customers can now come to the factory and get their airplanes ready to taxi during a quick two-week vacation. Since the program’s inception, 157 customers have successfully completed the program. While the financial commitment is greater, the benefit over homebuilt is efficiency and build accuracy. Compared to certified, the cost is lower and the customer has the added benefits of learning the airplane’s systems intimately and being able to keep cost of ownership low by maintaining the airplane.
In order to be eligible for an experimental amateur-built airworthiness certificate, at least 51 percent of the assembly and fabrication tasks for the airplane must be completed by the owner. But how is this possible to achieve in two weeks when most people take years to build an airplane? While customers building at home often become distracted by other projects or end up spending precious hours going to the hardware store to pick up tools, Glasair has the process down to an art. All the customer needs to focus on is building the airplane.
