Georgia Entrepreneur Turns To Crowdfunding In Hops Of Exhibiting The Twin-Engine Airplane

A Georgia entrepreneur has had a dream for the past 15 years ... return the Lazair ultralight to production. And with your help, Gene Yarbrough might just get it done.

ANN readers may recognize Gene's name from his reporting as a stringer during Oshkosh over the past several years. An aeronautical engineer, Gene has brought that expertise to ANN on topics ranging from high-tech engines to ultralights, which remains one of his passions.

Now, he hopes to bring his Lazair Nouveau to the annual gathering in Wisconsin this July, and he has turned to the crowdfunding site GoFundMe in an effort to offset the considerable costs of starting up an aviation business and making the trip from south Georgia to Wisconsin.

"This fund is intended to help restore the production of the fantastic Lazair Ultralight," Yarbrough writes on the GoFundMe site. "This much loved flying machine was very popular in the 80's with several thousand units sold by Ultraflight from Canada. Dale Kramer originally designed the Lazair and produced it from the late 70's until the late 80's, during the "golden age" of ultralights. It is an exceptionally good flying machine and has somewhat of a cult following. I have undertaken the project to make new Lazair's available for the masses to enjoy. I have been at it for for over 15 years, but really only the last 5 years in earnest. It is a monumental task to get a business like this up and running, much more so than I first imagined. I have had much interest from people who "know" about the Lazair but unfortunately I am personally unable to put this project together to get it to market by myself. If you are interested in the Lazair please help to save this wonderful flying machine."

(Image provided by Gene Yarbrough)

FMI: www.gofundme.com/tbvk9h9, http://NewLazair.blogspot.com