EAA Sport Aviation - September 2009

Pennsylvania | RV- 8

I completed this wonderful aircraft in September of 2006. The wonderful guys at GLO Custom at 52F painted it in February 2009. Dakota Queen is named after my wife and painted to honor the 352nd FG, specifically Lt. Robert “Punchy” Powell and his P-51D. The airplane is equipped with a fire-breathing TMX-360 from Mattituck and a wonderful Hartzell blended airfoil prop. It is day/ night visual flight rules (VFR) and performs wonderfully with a 175 knot true airspeed (TAS) cruise and a 189 knot TAS top speed. It is my dream plane, and this could not have been done without my wonderful wife and the expert help of Tom Emery.

Kirk Groves, EAA 720679; Paradise, Pennsylvania E-mail: groves@epix.net

Oklahoma | RV- 7

My RV- 7 has been flying since Halloween 2008. It was completed in two and a half years with the encouragement and support of numerous friends and family, as well as local EAA Chapter 1115. It features a TMX IO-360-M1B putting out 195 hp, a blended airfoil Hartzell constant-speed prop and a day/night VFR instrument panel with an Advanced Flight Systems 3500 electronic flight instrument system (EFIS)/engine monitoring system (EMS) as its centerpiece. My beautiful wife and daughters selected the paint scheme and colors, and without their support the project still would be only a dream. After more than 50 hours of flight time I am still in awe of this machine’s performance.

Joe Schneider, EAA 552867; Woodward, Oklahoma E-mail: jschneider@cebridge.net

Florida | Lightning

The dream started when I was 7 years old, and the project started in September 2008—nearly 53 years later! A Jabiru 3300 engine powers this strong, sleek, fast, and beautiful airplane. The instruments include Grand Rapids Technologies (GRT) avionics with internal GPS and XM weather receivers, GRT EMS, Garmin SL30 comm/ nav, TruTrak autopilot, Xeon TAS, a Garmin GTX 327 transponder, electric flaps and trim, and a lot more. Thanks to Steve Solomon and Nick Otterback and his staff at the Lightning factory. Airworthiness was completed on November 6, 2008. Factory checkout pilot Nick Otterback “jetted” off in N82PB on November 7, 2008. Thanks to my wife, Kathy, for her support throughout the project.

Paul E. Bryant, EAA 493848, Clearwater, Florida E-mail: n5pb@aol.com

Indiana | Challenger II

This is my Challenger II clipped-wing special, N492DC. The first flight took place June 18, 2008, after three years’ build time. The aircraft is equipped with a Rotax 503 DCD1, hydraulic brakes, and a BRS recovery system. It cruises at 75 mph indicated airspeed at 5200 rpm and was as much fun to build as it is to fly. I’d like to give a special thanks to my wife, Dorothy; my daughter, C.C.; James Eddy; and Mike Harrison for all of their support.