EAA Sport Aviation - February 2012

FLORIDA AERODYNE SEAREY LSX

I HAVE ENJOYED EACH MONTH’S EAA magazine, especially the stories
told by those bold enough to take on building their own plane. Years
of reading and renting led me to go the way of the amateur builder. I
chose a Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey LSX because the new,
improved version flies fantastically and is economical to own.
Besides that, where my wife and I live in Florida, if you can get an
airplane in the air, you can hit water. I chose a Rotax 914 UL because
I wanted the turbo for potential mountain flying in western states.
The panel is a very good combination of Dynon FlightDEK-D180,
Garmin SL40 comm, Garmin GTX 327 transponder, and PS
Engineering PM3000 intercom. We lived in a Class C RV while
building our dream, with my wife, Penny, supporting and helping all
the way through the project. Thanks to a real expert, Jim Ratte of
Recreational Mobility, who advised me and patiently guided us
through the yearlong building process, the finished product flies like
the dream it is. Having a technical expert available and ready to
guide us was a tremendous help and, in my opinion, essential to
ensure a top-notch product. Although, during the build, I did add
single-engine sea to my private ticket, I had no tailwheel or floating
hull experience. I strongly advocate obtaining transition training
from a qualified instructor experienced with SeaReys to provide that
extra level of safety needed in the light-sport aircraft world. Penny
appropriately named it Our Lady Liberty because it frees us from our
earthly bounds.

Marshall Lounsberry, EAA 1010240; Weirsdale, Florida; E-mail: pennymarshall@netzero.net

NEW YORK AVID MARK IV
I DECIDED FOR MY FIRST-TIME building experience to build an Avid
Mark IV Heavy Hauler. I picked the Avid because of the ability to
fold the wings, and I liked the Dean Wilson design.

I completed the kit from start to finish in three summers. It is powered by a 582 Rotax, with a 74-by- 49 Culver prop. I changed the original fuel tank with tanks from Wingtanks.com. This was due to the ethanol problem with the original fiberglass tank. The pictures on the Wingtanks’ website are of my installation. The finish and fabric work is Stewart Systems. Being my first kit, I found the Stewart Systems very user-friendly. I drew the vinyl decals, which were made by a local sign dealer. The first flight was on August 12, 2010. This was my first homebuilt project, and I found it to be a pleasant experience, and I’m very happy with the outcome. I have no plans at this time to build another, but time will tell.

CHILE SONEX

I AM AN ARCHITECT, and this is my Sonex Kit No. 901. I built it with my friend Wilfredo Guzman here in Chile. It took me three years to construct and certify it. The first flight was last year in March. It’s an incredible plane. I chose this plane because of its performance, velocity, STOL characteristics, and price.