N195AK Construction Log

I'm finishing up college here and I plan on grabbing my pilots license before I head out. I'm a huge fan of auto mechanics and I've now become interested in this whole personal aircraft manufacturing idea. I've heard of people building their own airplanes before and I wanted to know if you could answer a few of my questions.

I've skimmed through a lot of the kit possibilities and I really like some of the designs. What I'm worried about though is the big 40-50 grand price tag on some of these lycoming and continental engines. I wanted to know if it was possible to modify a light weight chevy V8 into an aircraft. i know that for 50 grand I could probably build the best 350 small block in the whole state. Maybe I'm a way off here but it doesn't seem too impossible as long as you refrain from flying upside down. I also havn't noticed any of your plans on here for what sort of engine you'll be using.

The other this I wanted to ask about was the legalities involved with building your own aircraft. I know that it's near impossible to build your own car from the ground up and find a state that will issue a title for it to make it legal. I can imagine the red tape being miles thick trying to get past safety standards and such for an aircraft. Is there some information source that I could hunt for concerning this?

I'm a little new to the aviation world and I think I'm jumping from step 1 to about 43 here, but this whole project seems like a fun undertaking and I'm very interested in how it turns out.

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Tom

I can't believe it's been this long since I've gone through this site and done a cleanup... 2 years since you posted these questions. I'll go ahead and answer in hopes that you will still get them.

First, yes an automotive engine can be used in an experimental amateur built aircraft. I am not locked into any engine at this point and time, but I would really like to use an aluminum block V8. I particularly like the project at Quiet Aviation.

As for legalities of building an experimental from the ground up, they are very well defined, and all available on the web. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is a great resource, and there is probably a local chapter near you where you could visit and talk to folks that have been doing this kind of thing for years.

The bottom line with an experimental aircraft is that as long as you can show that you did 51% of the work in constructing it, and the inspector determines that the work was done well and there are no glaring security issues... then you can build it and fly it.

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