 John Ghertner’s Glasair Super II-FT After too many years of my wife’s putting up with the odor of resin and thousands of parts, N494U is now a cross-country machine. The Glasair Super II-FT was built with the support of many people including family, friends, Ray Chapin of BAC services and Bill Middlebrook of Penn Yan Aero. Powered by an engine built up with ECI cylinders, the original Aerosance FADEC and MT propeller, it runs “like a deer,” cruising at 190 mph TAS down low and climbing at over 100 mph and 400 fpm at 16,000 feet MSL. Covered in House of Kolor Kandy paints and clear-coated with Imron, it is a flash of fire in the sun and just a joy to fly. Sodus, New York |
 Philip Smith’s Zenith CH 701 I started building in February of 1997, and the airplane was finally signed off after three years, eight months and 20 days. I’ve lost track of the hours, but I am a perfectionist. After running out of parts and excuses, on November 5th I took her up for the first flight of 15 minutes. Power is from a Rotax 912 ULS. The picture is of taxi in after N638PS’s first flight, and the guy with the grin is yours truly. There were no squawks. Now I have more than 3 hours on the plane and am waiting on this darn Idaho weather (17 days after this picture was taken, there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground with blizzard conditions forecasted). I’ll offer a little advice: If you are in the throes of a build, keep working at it. The rewards of flying your own plane are well worth the trouble. Buhl, Idaho |
 Gero and Beatrix Dargel’s Skyranger Swift After a couple of more or less successful radio-controlled models, the Skyranger is our first “full size” project. The main structure of the Skyranger is a bolted skeleton frame covered with presewn Dacron, so the kit can be built with a limited tool set. The construction was pretty straightforward. After about 500 hours within 11 months in a really small (German!) single-car garage, the Skyranger took off on its maiden flight in September 2010. It is powered with a 80-hp Rotax 912 and is now located at EDMJ near Munich. Munich, Germany |
BUILDERS SHARE THEIR SUCCESSES
Submissions to Completions should include a typed, double-spaced description (a few paragraphs only-250 words maximum) of the project and the finished aircraft. Also include a good color photograph (prints or 35mm slides are acceptable) of the aircraft that we may keep. Please include a daytime phone number where we can contact you if necessary. Also indicate whether we may publish your address in case other builders would like to contact you. Send submissions to: Completions, c/o KITPLANES Magazine, P.O. Box 315, Ashland, OR 97520. Digital submissions are also acceptable. Send text and photos to editorial@kitplanes.com with a subject line of Completions. Photos must be high-resolution-300 dpi at a 3 x 5 print size is the minimum requirement. You can also submit your aircraft through our online form.
