Where is Kitplane Builders located?

We are located at 1760 Meyerside Dr., Unit 5 in Mississauga, ON (Canada). For those familiar with the Toronto area, this is just west of Pearson Airport, just north of the 401 and Dixie.

Why not at an airport?

When we looked at the costs of establishing the business at an airport vs. the amount of time we’d actually need to be there (only at the final assembly stages), we decided that you’d rather have lower costs. For flight testing you’ll want to choose a base that’s works for you – not necessarily where we’d pick to locate the Builders’ Center. Kitplane Builders will work with you to make arrangements for transportation to your hanger and help you with final assembly.

Why a kitplane?

There are lots of great reasons to own a kitplane. Pride of ownership, custom designs, building flexibility tailored to your time/budget, performance. However, if you’re looking for economic justification check out Why Build a Kitplane?.

Why Kitplane Builders?

We’re Canada’s first integrated Builders’ Center and Builder Assistance Program, which means we can help you make your dreams fly – quicker. We offer:

• Access to the best quality tools in a space designed specifically for building kit aircraft
• When you need help, it’s available immediately, whether it’s an hour of holding pieces or a thousand hours of builder assistance on your aircraft.

Why is the work supervised by an AME?

We feel there is a lot of benefit to having the work conducted under the watchful eye of someone who has been trained to federal standards in airframes, powerplants, avionics, etc. We believe you should have access to the advice that someone with years of professional training and experience can give you, and you’ll be happy with the time and effort you save. We believe in doing it right - which means you get access to the highest quality equipment, facility and personnel.

What’s the quickest/cheapest way to get my kitplane built?

There is no easy answer. It depends on a lot of things, including how much time you have and how skilled you are (and therefore how much of this project you’re willing to do yourself).

Basically the cheapest (and most educational) way to build your plane is to start with a plan, source the parts and build the plane yourself. But unless you’re retired or with a very understanding spouse, this will take you awhile.

Plans and parts are next – most manufacturers have this option. Followed by purchasing individual subkits – this allows you to complete parts as time and money become available.

If you are a U.S. builder, or if you plan on building the majority of the plane yourself the quickest (but next to most expensive way) is to get a ‘quickbuild’ kit. The manufacturers have completed major pieces of the kit saving you substantial time. You’ll still have to complete most parts and all of the details (and remember the common adage that 90% of a kitplane’s construction time is in the last 10% of the build) but you will save substantial time.

The quickest way to get to fly your plane is to purchase the quickbuild kit and have it completed by Kitplane Builders. Depending on the aircraft and your budget we could help you have your plane up and flying within a few months of kit delivery.

Can you build my whole plane?

Yes, and no. Under Canadian law (CARS Subsection 507.03 (b) and Section 549.01) a kit builder is allowed:

“to contract for professional assistance in the construction or assembly of parts of the aircraft provided the work is subject to the builder’s overall control…”

This regulation pre-empts earlier legislation requiring the kit builder to complete 51% of the kit themselves (still required of U.S. builders, see FAA regulations). Builders may now contract professional assistance up to 100% provided they control the overall build. However, at Kitplane Builders we still believe that the ‘education and recreation’ guidelines that inspire these laws should be respected – therefore even if we build the majority of your plane under your control we will work to educate and involve you in the building process.