An airplane 21 years in the making, Peter Garrison's Melmoth 2 homebuilt design, will make its first appearance at the annual EAA Oshkosh fly-in when the event's 51st annual gathering takes place at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh on July 29-August 4.

The Melmoth 2, a four-place, composite-construction aircraft, is designed for fast, long-range flying. It is a successor to Garrison's original Melmoth airplane that flew to several continents in the 1970s and early 1980s. The first airplane, unfortunately, was destroyed in 1982 in a runway accident when it was struck on the ground by another aircraft.

"The aviation enthusiasts and others who attend will enjoy Peter's Melmoth 2 for a number of reasons," said Tom Poberezny, EAA President and AirVenture Chairman. "The long-distance capabilities of the airplane are impressive for the flying enthusiast. Even for those who don't have an intricate knowledge of homebuilt aircraft, Peter's accomplishment of building the airplane over two decades without formal aircraft design training is a laudable achievement."

Garrison is best known to many as a regular columnist for Flying Magazine and other aviation publications. He named his designs for Melmoth the Wanderer, a character in a novel by Charles Robert Maturin, who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to travel at will through space and time.

FMI: www.eaa.org