MakerPlane is an open source aviation organization, started by a group of Canadian plane building enthusiasts. Its members are designing the first open source airplane, which they estimate could cost about
US$15,000 to build.
Many do-it-yourself aircraft projects are abandoned before they are completed. Some of the causes are complex and vague plans and assembly instructions, lack of builder support, the thousands of hours needed to create a complete plane and manufacturers of parts and plans going out of business. The MakerPlane members participate in networking, share information and work together on a simple and economical plane design,
and make some of their own parts, in order to overcome these obstacles.
Aircraft designs
In 2011 the MakerPlane community began designing their aircraft from the ground up to be built using modern and affordable personal manufacturing equipment, such as
CNC mills and
3D Printers
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...
. The first design is a 2-seat
Light Sport Aircraft, currently under the working name of "MakerPlane v1.0 LSA". The designs are to be released under a
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...
license. The first prototype was expected to be flown in 2015 and shown at the AirVenture OshKosh shows in 2014 and 2015
Events
In 2013, MakerPlane initiated a Kickstarter campaign and an Indiegogo campaign to fund development of its plane. During the first few months, these campaigns did not succeed in raising a significant amount of money.
In January, 2014, MakerPlane successfully flew its first scale model.
In June 2019, after 5 years with no news, the project exhibited at
AirVenture.
News on Makerplane.org from June 2019
/ref>
See also
* Electric airplane
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
MakerPlane website
Open-source hardware
Aviation in Canada
Aviation organizations based in Canada
Organizations based in Toronto