The featured article in this issue of Experimenter epitomizes the homebuilding experience. The plane wasn't built from an overpriced Erector Set, work wasn't farmed out to hired guns, and it doesn't have tens of thousands of dollars stuffed into the panel. It was built lovingly and skillfully by the same two hands that pilot it. It was built from a set of plans and with careful contemplation; it was modified to suit the builder's needs and his vision of how his plane should be built. It wasn't built on an island or under the cover of darkness, but rather it came to life by way of social networking with other like-minded EAAers.

Last year, Scott Carter and his wife Lynn Canatella flew their newly hatched, one-off creation to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and displayed Xtra-EZ for all to see. Getting baked in the sun, Scott joyfully greeted those who stopped to ask questions while killing the grass on the ground surrounding its perimeter. Lynn contacted me, as I encourage all of you to do, to give me the heads-up that the plane was ready for its debut. We agreed to a time and a place for the photo session and interview; the article in this issue is the result of that collaborative effort. With that, I'll continue to urge you to do as Lynn did and let me know about your project. We'd love nothing more than to feature your plane in future issues of Experimenter and CONTACT! Magazine.

During AirVenture 2010, I'll be manning the CONTACT! Magazine booth in the freshly rearranged Exhibit Hangar C (booth 3107) with CONTACT! Magazine founding editor and publisher Mick Myal. You may remember his name from the "Ultimate Glue" article in last month's issue. Please stop by for a visit. If you've never seen a copy of CONTACT! Magazine, this would be a good opportunity to do so.

You can also find me at the Converting Auto Engines for Experimental Aviation forum in Pavilion 05 on Saturday at 10 a.m. I would love to see the building filled with Experimenter subscribers! The pancake breakfast in the Ultralight area is one of my early morning haunts, so if you see me there, feel free to sit down and have breakfast with me while you tell me about your project.

If you're attending AirVenture, I would encourage you to let me know if you find something that you're sure the readers of Experimenter will enjoy. When not in the booth, I'll be out and about searching for those fascinating planes and products I know you'll enjoy reading about, but I sure could use some help finding them. AirVenture is huge and continues to grow every year, but with enough help from Experimenter readers, hopefully those planes, like Scott Carter's, will not go unnoticed.

And please remember that there are people at the show who are trying to take photos. Try to not walk in-between a photographer and the plane while he or she is trying to get that perfect photo.

If the success of this year's annual Arlington Fly-In is any indication of what we might expect at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, all I can say is hold on to your socks! It should be one great show!

This is the first event I've ever attended where it seems that the aircraft outnumbered the pedestrian traffic, and the aircraft parking seemed to be at capacity! I'm sure the numbers will prove my estimation to be grossly inaccurate, but it just had that feeling. Maybe it's the infrastructure; maybe it's that there were so many cool and diverse planes to see that I didn't notice the people. The parking lot sure indicated good foot traffic. Read more

This article is being written before EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010. There is promise of many developments during AirVenture, and this article along with its companion "The Electric-Powered Aircraft: Technical Challenges" (May 2010 Experimenter) will be followed up after reviewing the Oshkosh developments.

In the "Technical Challenges" article, I made some predictions about electric planes. In the next five years, before 2015, I predict:

1) An electrically powered airplane will stay aloft for two hours carrying two people.
2) An electrically powered airplane will be cost competitive for special-light-sport aircraft and trainers.
3) Electric airplanes will be powered by batteries with energy densities at least 50 percent better than those available today.
4) An electric airplane will land at an airport near you!

The state of the art is advancing so rapidly and that there are sure to be advancements yet this year that may make these predictions too conservative. Read more