![]() That is a very good deal for such aĪnd… one of the things that has to sell a lot ofĮxpresses is the look of the plane. Said that, thanks to their close cooperation with their agent andĪIG, it isn't the typical Express FT builder pays about $3,000 a Unlike many speedy planes, insurance isn't a big problem. (PC-12?) Of course, an experimental amateur-built airworthinessĬertificate has certain advantages of its own. Not many machines canĭo both (and they tend to come with seven-figure price tags. Stuffed with the contents of McGee's closet. Upgrades to the Express have been aimed at increasing payload andĪ lot of machines are fast. Much larger tail (especially the horizontal). Since the initial Express was introduced inġ987, the machine has received a second entry door, a large baggageĭoor/ emergency exit, spring aluminum gear, and a redesigned and Seats are even large enough to hold tall people - 6'4" is no You can fill the four seats of theĮxpress with 200-lb. In the 50-knot range in both fixed and retractable versions. Speeds that are familiar to any Cessna 182 pilot. You can slow down the machine to safe landing The initial design was by Ken Wheeler andĪ team of consultants, and Ken had previously built a Glasair (no What's So Special About the Express?įirst, it's fast, like the name suggests: the fixed gear versionĬan true out at 190 kts. Versions of the Express that can make "low-time pilots like myselfįeel safe in even under IFR conditions," as Roy Davis said soonĪfter acquiring the company. Vision, and concentrate today on making fixed-gear (FT) and RG They steppedīack from the turbine version that had been Larry Olson's personal That they were full of ideas on how to make it better. Nancy and Roy had just been through the builders'-assist program so TheĬompany was a going concern with machines in various states ofĪssembly, dedicated employees, devoted builders, and a good design. Husband-and-wife team Nancy Moon and Roy Davis, stepped up andīought the company from Paul Fagerstrom and Larry's widow, Ila. Of the plane is full of people who loved the machine so much thatĪfter Larry Olson's untimely death, the current owners, Surprise you to learn that they were Express builders: the history Paul Fagerstrom acquired the business in 1996-97. Market, again after a fatal pilot-error accident, Larry Olson and ![]() Group of builders who worked on a modification to the originalĮxpress wound up reintroducing a conventional-tailed variant of theĮxpress in the early nineties. Wheelerīut the airplane was too good to keep down. The controversy over the original WheelerĮxpress's small, "cruciform" or high tail, didn't help. Over the machine right when a recession and market saturation hadĪlready eroded sales. Which were determined, ultimately, to be pilot error - cast a pall Wheeler Express was the first 4-seat composite homebuilt, as wellĪs one of the fastest four-seaters, period. Wheeler created the original Wheeler Express in the 1980s, whenĬomposite airplanes were new and exotic, and a four-seatĮxperimentals were one-off rarities. This was the Express kit's third near-death experience. New owners stepped forward from among their number. And there was a cadre of Express builders who knew what theĭesign could do, and that did not want to see the company fail. To be related to any deficiency in the Express aircraft design or The accident, while it remains under investigation, does not appear Manager was on hand (and Allyn continues as general manager today). Larry had been trainingĪn understudy, Allyn Roe, as a future successor, so a potential How do you come back from a disaster like that? Looking for all intents like a seamless continuation of he oldĬompany - because it was. Two aircraft in the booth, new owners, key personnel on hand, and Yet, at this Spring's S-n-F, Express had a large presence with Happened in the days before the sport's most visible trade show, Man was killed, an important prototype was destroyed, and it all Was the worst kind of accident for a kit airplane company: the key Of co-founder, owner and President Larry Olson in an accident. Oblivion? By ANN Correspondent Kevin "Hognose" O'BrienĪircraft LLC had to answer the question after the disastrous loss Can a kit aircraft builder come back from the brink of
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