State Of The Aircraft At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025

ANN’s Jim Campbell talked with Don Fielden, Owner of Fielden Aero, at the 2025 EAA AirVenture Air Show and Fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about the AeroPup aircraft, which is about to achieve first flight in the U.S.

The company has been working long and hard with all the modifications that have been done to the airplane, to simplify and shorten the build process and just as importantly, to simplify the maintenance process.

All the mods have been done, they’re worked out and proven. They anticipate getting the FAA out to do the sign-off in the next month or two and then they’ll be ready.

The demonstrator aircraft on display at Oshkosh has a 130-hp engine from UL Power. It’s a lot of engine for this airplane, but Don said he wanted it to do really well in STOL contests.

This airplane, in addition to the 130-hp engine, has a three-blade adjustable pitch prop with reverse pitch capability. It has a Dynon avionics suite with a moving map display, and is covered with Oratex. Don’s a big fan of the Oratex fabric with its light weight and durability, and he said it’s great for this airplane.

The AeroPup has swing wings for easy and fast stowing in ten minutes and extending for flight also in just ten minutes.

Fielden said if someone came up to the booth with cash in hand, they will have their kit in less than six months, and usually less than three months. $22,500 gets a customer a very complete kit, but the customer still needs to purchase the fabric, avionics, powerplant, propeller, and the brake system, which Fielden offers as options.

The build time is advertised as 500 hours. For a complete newbie who’s never built an airplane before, Don said to budget 1,000 hours and you’ll finish early. This is due in large part to the ample real-time tech support the company provides for customers. Fielden will do videos, photos, and will walk a builder through any issue or hurdle they may face.

For performance, the sweet spot is between 80 -100 hp and with an engine in that range the airplane will take off and land in less than 400 feet. With the 130 hp engine, complex prop and two adults on board, the demo airplane was ready to fly in less than 50 feet in high-speed taxi testing.

The fuel capacity is 23 gallons, with one gallon unusable, which will yield 5-6 hours range. The airplane will stall at 35 mph and if you can get it to stall it’s a very gentle one: the wings won’t drop and the nose only drops very gently so it enables a very rapid recovery. There are no surprise spins.

Cruise speed is 105 mph so with no wind consideration and the 5-6 hour duration, the range will be between 500-600 miles. Baggage capacity is about 40 pounds so it’s a good weekend getaway type of airplane. You can put your hunting or fishing gear in it and go off and have a good time.

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