According to Wikipedia, warblers are "fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous". I'm tired of homebuilt aircraft being marketed as aggressive birds of prey when many people simply want an aircraft that is safe, affordable, and fun to fly. The Warbler line of aircraft is intended to fill that role.
The Warbler will be an aluminum aircraft, fastened with Cherry pulled-rivets. This method is very typical across similar LSAs. It's very easy to work with. CNCed tooling will substantially reduce build times. Even though this is a plans-built aircraft, it should be able to be completed in a reasonable amount of time. The goal is that a club centered around one will be able to build one per year.
The Warbler will be a low-wing aircraft. It will utilize a Riblett GA30A-41X series airfoil. It will have conventional flaps. It will be available with a tricycle or conventional undercarriage. We determined in 2025 that folding wings were a non-negotiable. It will be designed in SolidWorks OnShape. The goal is a 400-hour airframe construction time. The Design Manifesto is available here (this is very outdated).
The Warbler will be an open-source project. I have not decided on an open-source license yet. Each license has its own pros and cons. There is clearly no way of being an advocate in experimental aviation without putting oneself at severe legal risk. The solution is simply to dump the contents of your work into the public domain and accept that no money will be made from your work.
The LSA space is very crowded. I don't think anything fills my mission. Let's consider some examples.
Zenith - Very close to what we're shooting for, but kit price increases in recent years are making it more difficult to afford. Custom extrusions go against my belief for off-the-shelf materials. The 650's spar structure is a bit difficult (not impossible, just more work than I'd like) to build from scratch.
Sonex - Many people are lured into buying a Sonex with the promise of high cruise speeds for an LSA at 8000', only to sell it because they don't enjoy the neutral stability. The Sonex was designed for occasional aerobatics, but I want an aircraft that is stable in pitch. At the present, the B models have become a poor value.
Sling - An "affordable Sling" is an oxymoron.
Vans - An "affordable Vans" is an oxymoron.
Thatcher - This is the closest to the mission, but we can do better in terms of plans and tooling. At this time, there is no leader for this design since Dave has become too old and Glen has .
Here we are. It's 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 (this gets crazier every year I have to update this!). We have CNC machines that are affordable enough for people to keep in their garages (2025 Update: LowRider V4 has given me <0.5mm precision. We are here!). Yet, the homebuilt community is still not pushing open-source. This is insane to me.
The Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL) for this project is Connor Luckett. Somebody has to dream, so it might as well be him.