Geoff van Asch’s Murphy Rebel
After nine years and many, many hours, Murphy Rebel ZK-VAN (kit #798) flew on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at Omaka, New Zealand. Powered by an Aero Sport O-320 with dual Light Speed Plasma II Plus electronic ignitions, she purrs like a pussycat. The instrumentation is a 10-inch Dynon SkyView, mainly for the EMS system. The first flight was made by Alister Yeoman. ZK-VAN was his sixth Rebel maiden flight. The airplane is very much part of the family—our two boys were 1 and 3 when the kit arrived, now 10 and 12, and proud of Dad’s achievement. Wife Rachael is happy and has an ever-growing to-do list around the home now that the other woman is flying.
Omaka, New Zealand
Larry Saupe’s Kitfox
My wife Shelli and I started our Kitfox III kit October 19, 2014. Thanks to the generous help of our local EAA Chapter (602) technical counselors and flight advisor, our Kitfox made its first taxi on October 18, 2015. The first flight was conducted a few days later on October 21 by an EAA 602 flight advisor, and it flew beautifully right out of the gate.
Galway, New York
Roger Tracy’s Sonex
Sonex N1579C made its first flight on April 8, 2013. The project was started at the end of June 2012. It was certified on April 1, 2013. The engine is an AeroVee 2180. I added hydraulic brakes from Great Plains and axles from Tracy O’Brien. The com radio is a Flightline 760 and the transponder is a Sandia STX 165. The Sonex is a great-flying plane.
Lake Placid, Florida
roger.tracy@hotmail.com
Bill Rusk’s Super Cub
The genesis for the airplane was in June 2011, and it first flew in May 2015. Actual building time was about 31/2 years. This is my second Experimental Super Cub. The kit was produced by Javron in Brainerd, Minnesota. It has a full complement of “Alaska Mods” to meet its primary mission of travel, exploration, and wilderness camping up north. Significant attention to the issue of weight was paid throughout the build, and it resulted in a lightweight “Bush ready” Cub. Empty weight came in at 1052 on Bushwheels with an O-360, square wings, and all the mods. Empty weight is 1325 on Wipline 2100A amphibious floats. A huge, detailed “how to” thread was kept on the Supercub.org web site. Google “Building a Javron Cub” to find the thread.
Poplar Grove, Illinois
billrusk@aol.com
Joe Friend’s Searey LSX
My Searey LSX was completed in August 2015. It is painted to honor the Greatest Generation and styled like the PBY Catalina in Jim Slattery’s Greatest Generation Naval Museum. It’s powered by a Rotax 912 ULS and equipped with Advanced Flight Systems avionics, including ADS-B In and Out. The Searey has Friese ailerons, which make it incredibly responsive, even at low speeds. The wing design with washout and vortex generators allows a 38-mph stall with flaps. The stall is very timid, more like a mush, and can actually be heard when the airstream breaks free of the wing at the root and goes through the prop.
Port Orange, Florida
Eric Marenyi’s Sonex
On March 23, 2013, the kit that was originally sentenced to a life on the shelf in the back of a carpet store became an airplane! The airplane and VW engine performed perfectly, and I was finally able to feel the rewarding sensation that comes when you see something you built with your own two hands take to the skies. I found a basically new kit that had been sitting for a few years, bought it, and spent the next 15 months building furiously to complete it. To anyone who is dreaming or working toward it, keep going and you will find your reward, too!
Jacksonville, North Carolina
marenyi@gmail.com
Bob Meyer’s SuperSport Kitfox
I got my SuperSport Kitfox kit in 2011 and spent 27 months to complete it. I finished on December 17, 2014, the 111th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. N43KF is powered by a Rotax 912 ULS with 3-blade WhirlWind propeller. The instruments are a single Dynon 10-inch SkyView EFIS with com, transponder, and intercom.
Phoenix, Arizona
John Drane’s Arion Lightning
I finished my Arion Lightning in June 2011. It is equipped with a Dynon EFIS-D60, Garmin radio and transponder, and Grand Rapids EIS. The engine is a Jabiru 3300 with a Sensenich ground-adjustable prop. Thanks to Greg and Crystal Hobbs and their builder’s assistance program.
Laveen, Arizona
BUILDERS SHARE THEIR SUCCESSES
Submissions to “Completions” should include a description (a few paragraphs only—250 words maximum) of the project and the finished aircraft. Also include a good color photograph of the aircraft. 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 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.
