Experimental aircraft assembled from kits are rising in popularity, aimed at accommodating owner-pilots "who want a new high-performance aircraft without shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars". "The fact is, there just aren't that many new production airplanes," says Bob Warner, executive vice president of the Experimental Aircraft Association. "Part of the price in the production-built airplane is you're paying for a bunch of lawyers and a bunch of insurance." (Jon Bonn�, "'Experimental' aircraft push the envelope", MSNBC, Dec. 15).

[cross-posted from Overlawyered, where it ran Dec. 17, 2003]