Robert Bushby of Minooka, Ill., designer of the famed Midget Mustang and Mustang II aircraft kits, will be the latest person welcomed to the EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame when he is inducted on October 21.
Robert Bushby of Minooka, Ill., designer of the famed Midget Mustang and Mustang II aircraft kits, will be the latest person welcomed to the EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame when he is inducted on October 21.
Bushby, who holds EAA #26 and attended the first EAA meeting at Milwaukee, Wis., in January 1953, will become the 31st inductee into the Homebuilders Hall of Fame, which was established in 1993. It honors those who have made significant lifetime contributions to the aircraft construction community.
In 1958, Bushby and a friend purchased the rights to the single-place Midget Mustang, after seeking a non-wood design that could reach 200 miles per hour. The prototype Midget Mustang made its first flight in September 1959.
Demand for a two-place version of the aircraft led to the development of the Mustang II, first flown in 1966. Bushby continued refinements to the designs and also supported other aircraft builders as they further developed the airplanes. He sold the design rights to Mustang Aeronautics in 1992.
On October 21, Bushby will join other inductees to the EAA Halls of Fame representing several areas of recreational aviation and flight instruction.