Makers of experimental airplanes take their dreams aloft

To the untrained eye, the lime green and sunflower yellow contraption sitting in Gary Stucker's garage looks like something Fisher-Price built. Anybody who expects it to actually fly must be sniffing airplane glue.

But that's exactly what experimental airplanes like Stucker's are designed to do. In fact, it could fly as high as three miles above the ground, once he finishes building it."It's built strong so the wings won't fall off," said Stucker, an Oxnard private pilot. "Your landing speed is about 25 mph. You land at the same speed you pedal a bicycle at."

Stucker's plywood and Dacron creation is on the less complicated end of the Experimental aircraft spectrum.

"Some of the airplanes are as sophisticated as the newest military birds," said John Fitzgerald of Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Fitzgerald is a member and Stucker is past president of Chapter 723 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, a chapter of a national association dedicated to people who build their own planes.

"These are hardcore tinkerers, but many of them are competently designed," said Fitzgerald. "The reason they're called `experimental' is because it's an FAA requirement."

Any home-built plane is considered an experimental plane, but they still have to meet certain requirements. No matter how simple or sophisticated, each experimental plane must get a certificate of airworthiness from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can be flown.

Bob Fowler of Simi Valley, an EAA member for 11 years, has two home-built airplanes in his hangar at Camarillo Airport. It took Fowler and his wife, Theresa, 7 1/2 years to build their Swearingen, a single-wing light plane with a propeller.

"You cannot buy an airplane with the performance of this airplane," said Fowler, running his hand over the wing of the glossy brown and tan plane. "Its top speed is 300 mph. The Bonanza (a factory-built plane) sells for over $500,000. It will only cruise about 200 mph."

By the time he finished building his Swearingen, he had invested a fifth of that amount. Still pretty steep, but the lower cost is what attracts many to the home-builti plane - along with a desire for something unique.

Kits for home-built planes can cost anywhere from $4,000 for an ultralight plane to as much as $500,000 for a high-performance plane that can travel at speeds of up to 400 mph. Aside from the extremes, most home-built airplane prices cluster around the $25,000 to $50,000 mark.

"It's an expensive hobby," said Ray Melberg, an 86-year-old EAA member.