Building your own personal aircraft has been a popular hobby of full scale pilots for many decades. While it’s a thriving hobby in the modern era, it isn’t a new concept. Pre-World War I, pretty much all aircraft were homebuilt. However, in the late 1920s, aviation enthusiast Joe Pietenpol had an idea—and a Ford Model A car engine. He combined the two into one of the first (if not the first) homebuilt kit. Instead of just building by plans alone, you could now purchase pre-made parts for your airplane “kit.” By the early 1930s, Air Campers were well established as a sound design and good flying aircraft. Even today, people are still building Air Campers (with much more modern engines, thankfully). There is even a national Air Camper owners’ organization…
