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A Brief History in Aviation

History's first aircraft were, for the most part, designed and built by individuals or a small group of experimenters. They were what we think of today as homebuilts, which distinguishes them from mass-produced, FAA-certified, factory-built aircraft.
WW-I moved airplane manufacturing out of garages and into factories, and the quest for speed and for commercial and military use of airplanes overshadowed the individual sport airplane builder. But there were a few individual builders including Ed Heath, who is credited with one of the first airplanes in kit form. Dating from the 1920s, his Heath Parasol is still remembered. And in the '30s, Bernie Pietenpol's Air Camper two-seater, powered by a Model A Ford engine, spurred hundreds to buy plans and build their own Air Campers. Pietenpol Air Campers are still being built, and scores of them are flying.

By the late '30s, the U.S. government had decided that homebuilding was not an appropriate activity. The gathering storms of war may have influenced that decision. But by 1947, Congress officially approved the licensing of homebuilt aircraft, subject to a federally regulated inspection program.

The official justification for permitting homebuilt aircraft was and still is education and recreation. Official government sanction of the hobby was followed in 1953 by the founding of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) by Paul Poberezny, Ray Stits and others. Craftsmen's magazines published cover stories about inexpensive aircraft you could build in your garage. Thousands of plans were sold, and hundreds of aircraft were built.

A few kits were introduced, but Frank Christensen achieved a breakthrough with his Christen Eagle II biplane kit in the 1970s. This two-seat aerobatic plane came with a new engine, an 8-foot stack of manuals, and many beautifully finished parts. Too many, according to the FAA, which made Christensen stop supplying a complete set of finished wing ribs so that the builder could do more of the work.

Jim Bede's BD-5 kit program (early to mid 1970s) failed to deliver necessary ingredients like engines and driveshafts, but the 3000+ customers who had paid for their BD-5 kits demonstrated the potential for an industry to service homebuilders.

Burt Rutan's plansbuilt VariEze amazed the aviation world in 1975 and was soon followed by the larger Long-EZ, which set many world records. Hundreds of them were built and are still flying.

By the early 1980s, homegrown aviation--whether in the form of hang gliding, powered ultralights, or FAA-licensed homebuilt aircraft--had taken off. And in the summer of 1984, the first issue of KITPLANES ("For Designers, Builders and Pilots of Experimental Aircraft") was published. We've not been the same since.