Kit designer hopes business takes off

David Monroe made millions from earthworms, but now he’s aiming for the sky.

Monroe’s worm incubator systems earned $2.5 million last year, and he wants to parlay that success into the manufacturing of a high-speed commuter airplane kit.

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"I made a ton of money with fiberglass worm incubators," said Monroe. "Now it’s time to fulfill a childhood dream."

Several months ago Monroe was browsing an Internet aircraft sales site and came across the Discovery 360, a modern two-seat, three-surface aircraft derived from the designs of Burt Rutan, whose SpaceShipOne last month became the first private vehicle to fly into outer space and who designed the Voyager aircraft which flew around the world nonstop and without refueling in 1986.

The Discovery, which achieves lift with wings, a horizontal stabilizer at the rear and a canard up front, was a hit in 1992 at the Osh Kosh, Wisc., Fly-In. Its builder died a few years later, leaving the little plane to languish in a hanger for six to seven years.

"I found it on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday I was leaving to pick it up," said Monroe.

The trip to California turned into two, as he trailered home the plane first, then the molds for the fiberglass airframe.

Now, he’s seeking some seed money from the Panhandle Area Council and a site at the Coeur d’Alene airport to begin production.

Because of liability issues, small aircraft have escalated in price to the point that a certified personal commuter plane costs around $200,000. Monroe believes the kit could sell for about $30,000 if made of carbon fiber as he plans. That is for the airframe only, with no engine, hardware, or instruments. He said the plane could be completed for about $75,000.

"That’s less than the cost of a Hummer," said Monroe. "I want to build a commuter plane the average guy can afford."

With a 30-foot wingspan and a length of 18 feet, the Discovery can be narrowed to 9.5 feet in about a half hour by removing the wings, making it small enough to store in a garage and haul on a trailer.

It has a Lycoming 0-360, 180-horsepower engine and is capable of a cruising speed of 180 miles per hour.

That’s faster than his Cessna 182, said Richard LeFrancis, a friend of Monroe’s who likes the design of the cockpit with its traditional stick controllers positioned between the legs of both passenger and pilot.

At its target price, it’s less than half the cost of the Cessna. At just over 1,000 pounds, the plane should have a range of 1,000-1,200 miles with fuel consumption of eight to nine gallons per hour.

"A guy could hop in and be in Boise in a couple of hours," said Monroe.

He’s seeking the engineering blueprints of the plane, as well as the whereabouts of two other examples built by the original designer.

He said it should have a stall speed of about 70 mph and a landing speed of 75 mph.

He hasn’t yet flown the plane because some components were removed while it was in storage. He expects to be airborne within about a week, when he’ll get a better feel for the handling and other characteristics of the plane.

He also hopes to ramp up production within about eight months and employ 15-20 people.

As other kit makers do, he said he could provide buyers with a space to complete their planes, which he thinks should take about 300 hours.

The Discovery was on display at the Thunder Over the Prairie air show in June, and 130 business cards were handed out. Since then, three inquiries have come in, said Monroe.

"It’s a revolution in aircraft," said LeFrancis.

Rick Thomas can be reached

at 664-8176, ext. 2005, or e-mail [email protected].