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Many of you have seen the bright yellow airplane parked at Ruckel Airport and probably know that it was built by Don Marco.  What you may not know is that the little yellow airplane has a connection to the creation of Advisory Circular 90-89A Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook. 

Don Marco's plane is an Avid Mk IV Aerobat Speedwing.  It is very similar to the Mk IV built by John Oglesby, but Don chose the shorter wing and John the longer one.  Don spent about 1500 hours on the plane over three and one half years and finished the plane in 1996.  Fabrication of some parts was difficult, but the fabric covering was a breeze.  Don built the panel himself from scratch using several plywood mock-ups to evaluate various configurations.  The plane is built strictly by the plans with the addition of electric trim. 
 
The Mk IV is powered by a Rotax 582 that pulls the plane along at 95 mph (maybe 100 mph on a good day).  The engine is great says Don, but he's had a tough time finding the right propellor.  He started with a wood prop, but soon installed a three-blade, ground-adjustable Ivoprop.  He later installed an in-flight adjustable Ivoprop, but experience extreme vibration due to the prop blades moving in the prob hub.  He is now flying a two-blade Ivoprop.  Don says that through all his prop changes, Ivoprop has been very helpful. 

Don's "day" job is flying bizjets for a fractional ownership company.  He says he mostly flies the Avid as a fun break from the high and fast world of jets.  He prefers to fly the Mk IV at about 1500 ft AGL and has never flown it farther than the restaurant at Monroeville, Alabama.  He occasionally does a little acro, but mostly just watches the world go by. 
 
When Don prepared to test fly the Avid, he received a little help from a test pilot friend at Edwards AFB.  The friend had developed a flight test protocol for homebuilt aircraft as his class project during the Air Force's test pilot school.  That same document was also a major source for the development of the FAA's Advisory Circular for testing homebuilt aircraft. 
John Jones 
 
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