The Pazmany PL1 is a two-seat, plans-built machine, designed by Ladislao Pazmany (www.pazmany.com). It is constructed of Aluminium, and powered by a Lycoming engine ranging from 108 to 150hp. Typical cruising speed is 120mph, and range is 490 miles. It is quite popular, with around 300 flying worldwide. Gross weight is 1,450lb; it i s19 feet 3 inches long, with a wing span of 27 feet 8 inches. It looks similar to the Practavia Sprite, but the two designs are unrelated.

This one was at Cranfield, July 1984

Pazmany PL2

Haverfordwest, September 2007

The Pazmany PL4 is a diminutive single seat ultralight homebuilt, weighing only 850lb fully laden. Powered by a 1600cc converted Volkswagen engine producing between 50 and 90 horsepower, it cruises at about 100mph and has a range of 280 miles (you can't fit very much fuel in something this size!). It is 16 feet 5 inches long, with a wing span of 26 feet 7 inches.

This one was at Cranfield, July 1984

The Pereira Osprey is one of a small group of homebuilt amphibian aircraft. It is also one of the few homebuilt aircraft to have retractable undercarriage (essential for landing safely on water). It is a very sleek two seat design by George Pereira, built largely of wood. Its 150hp engine gives it a cruising speed of 130mph and range of 500 miles. Gross weight is 1,560lb, lenght 20 feet 6 inches, and wing span 26 feet. Since its first flight in 1974, over 400 have been completed.

This one was also at Cranfield in July 1984

The Pietenpol Aircamper was designed in 1933 by Bernard Pietenpol. It is made largely of wood and fabric. It can be powered by any suitable engine between 65 and 115 horsepower. This is the thing to get if you want gentle, sedate flying and an excellent view of what you're flying over; top speed is 90mph. It is a two seater, weighing 1,000lb. It is 17 feet 8 inches long, with a wing span of 29 feet. It is still popular as a relatively simple plans-built machine.

This one was at Popham in May 1987.

The Pitts Special was designed in America in the 1940s by Curtis Pitts, intended as a high performance aerobatic aircraft for amateur construction. There are two essential variants - the S1 single seater, 15 feet 6 inches long with wing span 17 feet 4 inches and gross weight 1,050lb, and the S2 two seater, 18 feet 3 inches long with wing span 20 feet and gross weight 1,500lb. Both are normally powered by a 180hp Lycoming engine, have top speed of 140mph and range about 400 miles. But their main objective is aerobatics, at which their small size, high power to weight ratio and crisp controls make them excel. Pitts designs and their derivatives have been used by many world aerobatic champions over the years, and have been flown by many aerobatic display teams.

The top picture shows a Pitts S1S at Wickenby in July 1976. The middle picture shows two Pitts S2As of the Marlborough aerobatic team caught in a crossover manoeuvre during a display at Redhill in September 1985. The lower picture is a Pitts Special at Sandown, February 2006.

The Pottier P-220 is an attractive two seat homebuilt design by Jean Pottier. The design was acquired by Evektor in the Czech Republic, who developed it into the well-known Eurostar. Plans for the original P-220 are still available as well.

This one was at Kemble, July 2005

The Practavia Sprite was the winning entry to a competition held in 1968 by Pilot magazine, so is sometimes known as the Pilot Sprite. Designed by Loughborough university, it is an all metal two seater powered by a 130hp Continental engine. Length is 20 feet, wing span 24 feet and gross weight 1,400lb. Top speed is 130mph.

Ten have been built, of which five remain active in 2005, including this one which visited Kemble in July.

The Privateer is essentially a Slingsby Cadet glider converted to be a single seater with a small 1600cc Volkswagen engine in the nose. It is a one-off conversion done in 1976. This gives it a sedate 60mph cruise but a very respectable 200 mile range. It is described by its owner as an extremely relaxing form of flying! Wing span is 43 feet (it is a glider, after all) and length 20 feet. Maximum take-off weight is 870lb.

It was pictured at its Sunderland base in July 1976. Usworth was a lovely little airfield which is no longer operational; the land was owned by the council and was sold to build the Nissan car factory, which thanks to the highly motivated and skilled local workforce combined with Japanese operating practices has for many years been one of the most efficient in the world.

The Pulsar was one of the earliest of the new generation of sleek, fast, fibreglass homebuilt aircraft (www.pulsaraircraft.com). It can be powered by various engines, mainly Rotax or Jabiru, ranging from 80 to 120hp. Top speed (with 120hp engine) is 170mph, and range (with 80hp engine) is up to 900 miles. It is a two seater, with gross weight up to 1,200lb; it is 20 feet long and has a wing span of 25 feet.

These two smart example are (top) at Kemble, July 2005 and (bottom) at Gamston, November 2007.

The Rand KR2 is a minute two seater (not sure how two people fit into it, but they do somehow) designed in the USA in the early 1970s by Ken Rand (www.flykr.com). It is mainly made of wood, with a few fibreglass components. With a gross weight of 900lb, it claims a top speed of 180mph and range of 1,600 miles. It is only 14 feet 6 inches long, with a wing span of 20 feet 8 inches.

Top: Tailwheel version at Cranfield in 1998. Bottom: Nosewheel variant visiting Top Farm, August 2007.

The Rans S6 Super Coyote is a basic kit-built light aircraft designed in the USA by Randy Schlitter (www.rans.com). It is mainly made of metal tube covered with fabric. It can be fitted with various Rotax engines between 50 and 100 hp. It is a two seater with gross weight of 1,100lb. It can cruise at up to 115mph and has a range of 300 miles. It is 21 feet long with a wing span of 34 feet 5 inches. It first flew in 1983.

Photograph by Ivy, Kemble, July 2005

The Rans S10 Sakota is another little Rotax-powered two seater from the same designer as the Coyote, this time with a mid-mounted wing which gives good all-round visibility. A similar engine to the Coyote gives it a cruising speed of up to 125mph and range of 520 miles, with a lower gross weight of 1,010lb - another illustration of the simple effect of frontal area on performance. It is 17 feet 10 inches long, with a wing span of 24 feet.

This one was at Kemble, July 2005

The Rotorway Exec is one of a very small number of homebuilt helicopters, designed by specialist company Rotorway (www.rotorway.com) from Arizona, USA. It is a two seater, powered by Rotorway's own RI162 engine, developing 150hp and driving a two-bladed rotor with a diameter of 25 feet. It first flew in 1980. It can cruise at 95mph and has a range of 180 miles.

Top: Photograph by Ivy, Kemble, July 2005

Lower: Haverfordwest, October 2007.

The Quickie is a very strange tandem wing aircraft designed by Burt Rutan, later to found Scaled Composites. It is built of fibreglass and sold as a kit (www.rutanaircraft.com). It is notable that both horizontal surfaces have full lifting functions. It is 19 feet 10 inches long, with a wing span of 16 feet 8 inches - one of very few machines other than fast jets to have span shorter than length. It can seat one or two (`Q2' variant) people. Typical powerplant is a 65hp converted Volkswagen engine, which gives it a cruising speed of 140mph and range of 550 miles. Since its first flight in 1978, about 2,000 kits were sold.

This one was at Kemble, July 2005

The Rutan Vari-Eze is a canard design, meaning that the wings are at the back and the horizontal stabiliser is a foreplane which develops lift, thus increasing efficiency. A major advantage claimed for this configuration is that the foreplane can be set to stall before the mainplane, thus effectively preventing the main wing from ever stalling at all and contributing to safety. The winglets serve a dual function as vertical stabilisers and devices to reduce induced drag. This was one of the first aircraft to introduce composite construction to the homebuilt market. It first flew in 1975. Normal power is a Continental O-200 engine, which gives it a cruising speed of 180mph and range of 650 miles. It is 14 feet 2 inches long, with a wing span of 22 feet 2 inches. A very unusual feature is the delicate nosewheel, which is retracted when the aircraft is at rest, making it look as though it has got a bit missing.

Kemble, July 2005

The Rutan Long-Eze was a 1979 upgrade of the Vari-Eze concept, with a 108hp engine, revised vertical stabilisers, and a range of up to 1,600 miles.

Kemble, July 2005