Makers Of The Thatcher CX4 Getting Set To Test The CX5

Dave Thatcher of Pensacola, FL has a new project just about ready to get off the ground. The 81-year-old aircraft mechanic and designer has stretched his CX4 single place design, and is getting ready to begin offering kits for a two-place CX5.

Thatcher has sold 547 sets of plans for the CX4 since 2004, according to a report in the Pensacola News Journal. So far, 50 would-be builders have said they will pay $475 for the plans to the CX5, which is expected to cost about $25,000 to build.

Thatcher is being assisted by 65-year-old retired college professor Glen Bradley, a 6,000 hour pilot who will conduct the test flights on the CX5. All that remains is for the FAA to give its blessing.

Bradley said there is nothing radically new about the CX5. "It's just a very efficiently designed airplane with upturned wings and strakes that adds speed and smoothness," he told the paper.

The CX5 is expected to have a cruising speed of 125 mph and a 300 mile range on a single tank of fuel. It is powered by a modified VW engine that will burn standard auto fuel.

Thatcher and Bradley said that after about 40 hours of flight testing, people near Pensacola can expect to see a lot of the CX5 overhead.

(Images provided by Dave Thatcher)

FMI: www.cx4community.com/plans_parts.htm