Experimental Aircraft / Homebuilts

Though he’s spent the last two decades designing missiles for the Navy, the Kodiak for Quest Aircraft and has become the world leader in composite float production at Aerocet, Tom Hamilton still stands out in the homebuilt community for what he accomplished with the Glasair and GlaStar series of airplane kits. Tom’s talents with a […]

On the home page of the Van’s Aircraft website, there is a replica of a Hobbs Meter. It doesn’t count hours; however, it counts aircraft completions…the number of RVs that have been finished and flown. The count this afternoon was 7,684! No other design in the homebuilt movement has come close to that. What’s equally […]

Thirty-five years ago, Frank Christensen started a revolution. He introduced his kit for the Eagle aerobatic biplane at the EAA Fly-In, and with that, he changed the image of homebuilding. Prior to that historic annual Fly-In Convention, no one had ever seen or even envisioned anything like the Eagle kit. On opening day it became […]

When Tom Poberezny assumed the leadership of EAA as its second president in 1989, he brought a new set of skills, a fresh perspective and a determination to expand the EAA culture. As a result of what Tom brought to the table, EAA entered a new era. It matured. Tom’s professionalism slowly transformed the activities […]

Paul Poberezny was the founding president of the Experimental Aircraft Association from its creation in 1953, until he resigned in 1989. He then became Chairman of the Board, until 2010. Though he wasn’t the first person to build and fly his own airplane, he inspired tens of thousands of others to do what he had […]

Burt Rutan’s list of airplanes designed and flown (45), of honorary Doctoral Degrees (6!), of national and international awards (112), of patents held (7), and of design projects related to aviation in some way (several hundred) takes up 11 pages! This all occurred in the years between 1965, when he graduated from California Polytechnic University, […]