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About Us
About Ashcraft Aero Works, Inc.
Who We Are
AAW is a small new company that's focused on the homebuilt aerobatic aircraft. First formed to complete the design and
fabrication of a two-place monoplane using the Russian radial engine, the company was recently given the opportunity to
take over support of the DR-109 and DR-108 aircraft, two designs from Dan Rihn that are still waiting to skyrocket. Taking
full advantage of the existing supplier base for the fuselage truss kit (VR3) and the wing kit (Scheunemann Aviation) for
the DR-109, we intend to apply some recent advances in analysis tools and materials to improve the design while we
rejuvenate the marketing and support of these tremendous designs.
We're owned and operated by aerobatic pilots and enthusiasts who want to make the sport safer, less expensive, and
more fun. The owner has his degree in aero/astro engineering, over 20 years of engineering design experience in the
aerospace/defense industry, a couple patents, and a love of the world of aerobatics. Sport flying and aerobatics have
been part of his life since he learned to fly gliders when he was a kid 25 years ago. He's built and restored a few aircraft
with the construction techniques you see here. He's competed in the IAC for the past ten years or so, although his
win/loss record is not fit to be discussed here. This year marks his 24th EAA convention since he began going, when he
was 16.
What We're Gonna Do
We're going to start with fuselage truss kits and wing kits for the DR-109. We will grow to offer the full spectrum from
plans and parts to kits and manuals to flying assemblies. Take a look at the quality of the builder's manuals that were
done for the wing, which you can view on this site. We're finishing up the plans for those who want to fab their own, and
once all the detailed parts drawings are complete, expect us to tool up and start selling you the parts you wouldn't want
to make yourself. Who wants to build a single stringer bracket and its opposite-side cousin? We can do a bunch at once,
sell you a set, and get you moving onto the more fun stuff.
Ashcraft Aero Works is focused on safety. There are a lot of ideas we want to put in place, not just in the design details
we want to integrate into the kits, but with retrofitable equipment such as fire bottle systems, canopy jettison
mechanisms, and more. As these ideas hit an appropriate level of maturity, we'll show them in our New Projects area.
Fly safe, fly hard, have a blast.
Todd Ashcraft
Ashcraft Aero Works, Inc.
