A Really Different Homebuilt

In the November 2008 new registrations I was intrigued by what the Heydecke V 16 ZK VVV was. On Sunday I found out - it is a 2/3 scale carbon fibre replica of a Policarpov I 16 that was built by Volker Heydecke over the last 2 years. It has a 3.6 litre Rotec radial engine that sounds pretty impressive. Unfortunately it suffered a taxying accident at Ardmore a few weeks ago, but the airframe damage is now repaired. Repairs to the engine and a new prop are to follow.

A nice touch is the required Experimental sign in Russian on the starboard side.

You can see it taxying on YouTube - look under NZ sites as VVV.

Thanks to Volker Heydecke for the photo.