Our recommendation is that you begin the project starting with the fuselage frame. The fuselage frame and control system is by far the most complex part of the aircraft. This is also the most labor-intensive and is one of the areas where an individual builder can save a substantial amount of cost when building the aircraft. Building the fuselage frame yourself is not particularly difficult, but will require the ability to Oxyacetylene weld or Tig weld.(recommended). We’ve gone to great lengths to provide a system by which welding the fuselage frame becomes exceptionally easy and accurate by providing welding jigs that can be purchased, rented, or manufactured locally by a cabinet shop using our downloadable DXF files and cutting the fixturing templates from plywood.

The landing gear is one of those segments that can be built at any point in time. But normally this would become a task to be completed efficiently after the fuselage frame has been completed. The landing gear on the airplane allows the builder to configure the aircraft in any one of a number of ways. Aircraft can be made with a Mono wheel which provides for low drag configuration more suited for a glider type of operation, a nose wheel version which is better suited optimal ground handling. Or a tail wheel version which provides for a compromise which still provides for good ground handling characteristics with a reduced increase in weight, and complexity. The aircraft can also be configured as a glider with only a simple skid. additional options include training wheels which can be used to assist moving the Mono wheel version of the aircraft during ground handling as well as providing ground stability while the pilot is learning to fly the Mono wheel version of the aircraft.

The normal sequence for building the fuselage boom is after the completion of the fuselage frame, and before or after, the landing gear has been installed. In addition, the fuselage boom will need to be manufactured prior to beginning the assembly of the Empanage (tail assembly). The fuselage boom assembly is a sheet metal CNC manufactured and pop riveted together construction. Once this assembly has been built, it simply bolts to the fuselage frame using 4 AN bolts. Average build time for the fuselage boom can take as little as 10 hours or as much is 30 hours for the 1st time builder.

The elevator, rudder, and aileron control systems require a significant amount of work. These control systems can be worked on independently developing the smaller components but should be accomplished in conjunction with the building of the fuselage frame.

The vertical stabilizer cannot be assembled until after the fuselage boom has been completed. The vertical stabilizer is a very simple low-cost part of the assembly. build time can be as little as 2 hours. In addition, the tail skid/wheel is part of the vertical stabilizer assembly and if you’re going to be moving the aircraft around after putting it up on the landing gear it would be a good idea to complete the vertical stabilizer assembly.

The rudder assembly can be completed at any point in time, however it cannot be attached to the rest of the aircraft until after the completion of the fuselage boom and vertical stabilizer.

Like the rudder assembly the horizontal stabilizer and elevator can be completed at any point in time, however they cannot be attached to the rest the aircraft until after completion of the fuselage boom and vertical stabilizer.

The construction of the wings are fairly simple, but because of their size they are normally reserved for one of the last things that we will assemble on the aircraft.

Like the other flight control systems the ailerons can be manufactured at any point in time. However, they cannot be attached to the rest of the aircraft until after the wings have been completed. Because of their large size, you may want to wait to do this as one of the last steps in the process.

There are literally hundreds of components that could be built at any point in time. If you are limited on and/or budget this might be a great place to get started

We continue to develop the plans for the aircraft with the intent of providing drawings for as many of the components as we possibly can which the individual builder may wish to build themselves. In addition, we will have all of the parts available for purchase should the individual builder not be able to build the specific component because of the lack of tools, equipment, or know how. There are many components on the aircraft that are simple and small and no matter what your budget is you can start with these small components putting your own labor into the manufacturing process saving $. We are currently working on a database that will categorize the parts by size, cost, and building difficulty. Even if you only have access to an EAA chapter shop or a friends shop or a school shop there is no reason that you won’t be able to build a substantial portion of the aircraft with limited facilities. And even a limited budget will not prevent you from scrounging and building a substantial portion of the aircraft.

We continue to work on the development of the builders videos and our intention is to have written drawings and building instructions as well as a corresponding video for every single component on the aircraft. As you might imagine, making the builder videos is quite time-consuming and may take some time to complete every one of the videos. As it stands right now we are ahead of most of the builders with the videos and construction drawings.

We recognize that there are a lot of builders who are interested in the aircraft but live far away from our facility or in another country. It is our intent, as we go along, to have enough drawings in place that the majority of the aircraft can be built obtaining supplies from their country or state. This should make a substantial difference when it comes to shipping the large and heavy components. In addition, we have begun to work with partners who are interested in supplying components pre-manufactured in their area or their part of their country.

We also recognize that there are many of you who are interested in building a fast build kit from a complete kit with a minimal amount of construction time. We assure you that we are working towards this end goal of being able to supply complete kits. As it stands right now our primary focus is on supplying components to the existing builders. We continue to build inventory and we continue to work on the drawings and assembly instructions. However, we will not be releasing complete kits until we have everything ready to go and done right.

Most of our efforts within the development and supply of parts to our existing customers is centered around them and their needs. We work one-on-one with each of our customers to try and anticipate their needs and have parts available when they need them.

It’s very important that we are honest and forthright about where we are in the total scheme of things. Everyone that has begun to build the airplane understands that the project is still in the development stages. There is much manufacturing capability that we still need to develop and fund. And there is still a significant amount of flight test program that still needs to be completed. We have completed a great deal of the structural testing, design work, and flight testing to the extent that we are comfortable proceeding into the manufacturing environment with the design as we have built it to date. Suffice it to say, that even if we are able to determine that a portion of the structure is not up to snuff during the remaining testing phase, there is virtually no portion of the design that cannot be modified to accommodate any design changes. For example increasing the tube wall thickness in an area. This design testing for both structural and flight may continue for several years. Our anticipation is that we will conduct enough testing to make this aircraft one of the best and safest aircraft on the market.

Probably the biggest area of change that will come about on the aircraft in the following years will be in the area of the power plant development. We have approached the design of the aircraft with the anticipation that any of the power plants that we use in the early years will become obsolete fairly quickly. We have been watching closely the development of batteries, controllers, motors and cannot help but realize the coming changes within the industry. We anticipate that this will be one of the greatest changes in aviation history that we will all ever witness. In the coming years as we focus on the airframe development we anticipate that the number of options available for power plants will continue to proliferate the industry. Many of the early builders of the airframe are anticipating that they will have an airframe built and ready for accepting one of these options as they become available. Additionally we are approaching the development of a perfect reciprocating engine power plant package that will be able to be used in the interim should the development of the electric power plant systems be delayed for some reason or for those that are very interested in the efficient platform but are not yet convinced that electric power is within their future.