Well, the latest update is that Loyd Woodward has lost his lawsuit against myself and the LP1. My countersuit against him also failed, this ends in a "walk away" from both parties. Sometimes the good guys do win, thanks to all you out there who supported me in this awful, 3.5 year quest for the truth to be told and justice to be served. The trial was a one day affair which lasted until 7:30 that evening. Woodward cross examined me on the stand for 6 hours. This case has set a few benchmarks of sorts, a defendant in ProSe, no attorney for the most part, rarely survives very long in federal court, even rarer that they make it to trial, let alone is succesful in defending itself. We had ProBono legal representation from two attorneys from a wonderful law firm here in Indianapolis for the summary judgment hearing, and they stayed with us through the trial. I can't say enough good things about them and their calm, thorough approach to this case.

So life goes on. I have many projects and things to finish off here now, but intend to resume the development on the LP1 shortly. The main one right now is that I moved into a new shop, with plenty of space at over 10,000 sq. feet. This place needed, and still needs, a lot of work, but it's come a long way since I got there, and I continue to work on it daily. There is a pic of it here somewhere.

I Added a pic of the nose gear steer damper installed, this is a hydraulic rotary damper using silicone fluid. Completed work on changes to the gearbox to handle the LS7 torque input. It now has a composite carbon bellhousing/ billet aluminium gear case. Changing the prop control system. Changing to a single airframe controller from the network double system it has now, and with more inputs and outputs. Reworked the flap logic to simplify their function. Have worked on the landing gear and the engine ECU programming quite a bit. Moved the mains back 4.6", this gets it to the correct angle from the tyre contact patch to the CG from before. Changed the nosegear from a zero castor/ trail type to a 5 degree castor/ 0.35" trail setup. Changed the polyurethane nosewheel to a pneumatic tyre. Have had issues with the MAP sensor giving false readings. Am impressed with how complex and tuneable the GM ECU is, have had to learn a lot for that to be able to tune it. Working on the mid spar fuel cells as well. I did the initial CG check. Was right in the middle of the range with just me sitting in it, not bad, but I need it to move about 2" forward in that condition so I moved the batteries from the aft cockpit and put one on the seatback and the other in a space I had reserved on the lower left firewall. The gear doors aren't fully finished but we are working on them. Be sure to see all of the pages at this site and I will answer all inquiries received.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION, FIND ORGINAL ARTICLE AT AIRPIGZ.COM

The LP1, or 'Light Pressurized 1', began over 15 years ago in the mind of David Algie. It wasn’t just an idea 15 years ago tho, work actually began on this airplane that far back, and the basic shape has been frozen for quite a long time. The LP1 is a two-place, pressurized, carbon fiber kit aircraft powered by an adapted Chevy Corvette LS engine that is intended to operate at altitudes as high as 29,000 feet (with sea level cockpit pressurization) and cruise at 385 mph burning just 14.5 gallons of fuel per hour. Even more astonishing is the goal for a 1,080 pound empty weight which will give this aircraft the ability to carry two 200 pound people, 50 pounds of baggage, and 62 gallons of fuel… all with a gross weight of just 1,902 pounds. Imagine the climb performance with 300 hp under the hood and such a light airplane! 

When I first saw the airplane at Sun-n-Fun in April 2010, the claim of 385 mph on 14.5 gph along with that flashy engine compartment, and the general feeling that this airplane wasn't designed the way were used to in the aviation world is what caused me to shake my head and walk away. The 2-seat carbon airframe with an elliptical wing claiming crazy high cruise speeds, sea level pressurization at 29,000 feet, and with an automotive engine tightly shoehorned into the cowl (and an unusual looking prop/spinner nose) pretty much told me this was just another crazy dreamer.

I’ve been around homebuilt airplanes since the early 70’s, since before I was even a teenager, and I’ve seen a boatload of dreamers come along and make Bede-esque claims of wild performance coupled with low cost and build simplicity... but in the end, they all disappeared.