ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

We’re incredibly excited to officially announce that Mini-MAX USA has acquired the Mini-MAX aircraft brand from Team MiniMax! 🎉

This marks the beginning of a bold new chapter — and we’re honored to carry forward the legacy of Wayne Ison’s iconic designs. We’re also thrilled to share that David is staying on as part of the team, and the manufacturing facility in Niles, MI will continue operations for the time being as we work toward a smooth transition.
Mini-MAX has always been more than just a line of aircraft — it’s a community. While the aircraft designs are timeless, it’s the builders, flyers, owners, and enthusiasts who keep the brand alive. That’s why our mission is simple: honor the legacy, modernize the brand, and bring the Mini-MAX community back together.

Here’s what’s coming:
✈️ Full updates to all plan sets, construction manuals, materials lists & branding
✈️ A new website with digital + printed plans
✈️ A return to fly-ins, community events, and a major annual Mini-MAX gathering
✈️ Booths at Oshkosh 2026 and Sun 'n Fun 2027 (fingers crossed!)

Our vision is to modernize the Mini-MAX brand while keeping its soul intact and eventually want to stock every part you need to build your Mini-MAX from spinner to tail.

We'll start by re-releasing updated plans for the:
1100R, 1030F, 1500R Sport, 1550V V-MAX, 1600R Sport, 1650R EROS, and 1700R Hi-MAX.
Plans for the AeroMax, SuperMax, and Epic Sport are in progress — we’re giving them the time and care they deserve to meet our new standards.

Over the past few months, we’ve spent countless late nights digging into the history of Mini-MAX and Wayne Ison’s designs. What we’ve learned is clear: the planes are incredible, but it’s the community — the builders, pilots, owners — that really keeps this brand alive. That’s where YOU come in.

👉 How you can help:
📸 Photos/Videos: We need high-quality content of your Mini-MAX projects (any stage!) for the new website and marketing.
🛠️ Feedback: Spot something off in the plans or manuals? Let us know so we can fix it early.
📣 Skills: If you’re experienced in design, media, or tech support and want to get involved — we’d love to hear from you.
We're incredibly proud to be taking this journey, and we’re grateful for your patience and support as we build the future of Mini-MAX together.

Jess and I are doing most of this ourselves while raising two awesome kids — so please be patient with us as we juggle it all. We’re committed to doing this right — and we want you all along for the ride. ❤️

Join in the fun and register with Mini-Max USA here:
https://www.flyminimax.com/join-lonesome-buzzards

Let’s get this bird flying again. 🚀
— The Mini-MAX USA Team

This is great news! The new website looks really nice!

If you're open to suggestions, would love to see the development of a high wing SuperMax and a firewall forward kit for the Aeromarine v-twin engine.

https://www.aeromarine-lsa.com/vtwin/

Cy

Cy,

I don think "Open for suggestions" is the way to put it. I think its more of a "ASKING for suggestions" right now haha. We have known about the Mini-Max Brand since I started my training 15+ years ago, however, I have not delved into the aircraft and the community until about 6 weeks ago. You guys are the ones who have spent years of your lives around this brand and these awesome aircraft.

The way we see it, we could take the ball and just run in our own direction, or we can pick up the ball, find out what everyone else hopes and dreams to see out of the brand, rebuild the community together, and march forward much stronger.  

We believe the latter is a much better avenue for all.

We have spent countless nights and wee-houred mornings pouring through the plans, build manuals, flight manual, materials lists, and pull sheets(think recipes) to begin looking for ways to bring higher quality plans and kits to the community while trying to keep costs down and margins reasonable enough to keep the doors open long down the road.

On that note, a Hi-SuperMax would be an awesome bird. I don't see why it would be too hard to put that on our list of To-Do's here in the future. It would be a slight mix between the Epic Sport and the Supermax.

I also tool a look at the AeroMarine LSA V-Twin and don't see why that couldn't be a viable option for something in the range of a Supermax. At 60hp and 125lbs it comes in a bit lighter than a Hummel engine of the same hp. I will add this to our board of contenders for future engine options as a potential FWF Kit too.

Glad to hear MiniMAX is moving forward!

Best wishes to the new owners (names?) and I also wish David all the best moving forward. He was always so willing to answer questions!

I hope the new life of MIniMAX can reactivate ETLB as the busy and wonderful source of inspiration, encouragement and build assistance it was not too many years ago. To me, ETLB is a huge part of the MiniMAX family.

Lynn

Lynn,

Our names are Jessica and Jake!

Our favorite part of this deal is keeping David on board for the transition and for the foreseeable future while we work on grasping all of the nuances of each model and kit to better serve the community. He is a wealth of knowledge and an awesome guy. He is also currently working on catching up on a handful of parts owed to past customers so we can get everything moving forward cleanly.

We are hoping to meet everyone personally eventually and will be at OSH this year if anyone is going. We don't think we would be putting our best foot forward showing up unprepared so we think we are going to forego a booth this year and shoot for a big Mini-Max booth for '26 but will be there for '25 as customers.

Is David T still on board?

And do you sell plans for the AeroMax?

And in which time frame is MiniMax USA answering the requests made on their website?

Good to hear the marque still lives. I wish you all well in making this super little aeroplane return to its rightful slot (up near the top!) in the homebuilt aircraft world.

I'm clearly not the sharpest tool in the box, because I can't find your website. Googling Mini-Max USA doesn't take me there. Would it perhaps be a good idea to include a link on this board?

Good luck in your new venture

Bruce

Try this link ; http://www.flyminimax.com

Thanks eerki, that worked (althonone of the photos opened).

I hope these guys make a success of the Max business.  They seem enthusiastic, let's hope they can find enough customers.

That's great news, J&J. Congratulations on becoming the new stewards of a great little family of airplanes.

From Kitplanes Magazine...

https://www.kitplanes.com/mini-max-usa-relaunches-homebuilt-classic/

Quoted from erkki67 Is David T still on board?

Quoted from erkki67 And do you sell plans for the AeroMax?

Quoted from erkki67 And in which time frame is MiniMax USA answering the requests made on their website?

@erkki67 David T Is not with Mini-Max USA however we have spent some time talking to him and we are working on getting the AeroMax files all cut and planning on building a few here shortly. We do not currently sell the build plans for the AeroMax per-se, they are more just all the drawings of where each piece goes. It is sold as a full kit or in 4 separate "Mini-Kits"
As far as answering emails, they go directly to our phones so realistically as fast as we can reply. The first few weeks was a whirlwind of Q&A from all over so it took a bit to get all caught up but should be same day if not same hour currently.  

Quoted from beragoobruce Good to hear the marque still lives. I wish you all well in making this super little aeroplane return to its rightful slot (up near the top!) in the homebuilt aircraft world.

I'm clearly not the sharpest tool in the box, because I can't find your website. Googling Mini-Max USA doesn't take me there. Would it perhaps be a good idea to include a link on this board?

Good luck in your new venture

Bruce

Quoted from beragoobruce Thanks eerki, that worked (althonone of the photos opened).

I hope these guys make a success of the Max business.  They seem enthusiastic, let's hope they can find enough customers.

Well we’ve realized it’s time to step up our backlink game to improve our SEO and get FlyMiniMax.com ranking better on Google — so that's now on our radar.

Right now, we are fully immersed in Oshkosh prep, working practically around the clock. We've recently acquired a few Mini-Max aircraft ourselves and are planning to build several of them over the coming months. The goal? To co-brand these builds with some top names in the industry and create strong visibility for the Mini-Max line while vetting new engines, fabrics, avionics, and components for the rest of our customer builds.

We’re aiming to have four to five aircraft on display at next summer’s Oshkosh, and we're really excited about what that kind of presence could do to boost awareness and showcase the versatility of these kits. It’s a big lift, but we’ve jumped in with both feet!

Question on the image on the new website for the MAX1030F.  Is this a 1030 or an 1100?  Just curious as it shows a short turtle deck and no windshield half canopy, or are those options?.  Changes to the bird perhaps?

The photo on the 1030F page looks like an 1100R to me.

Also, the photo shown on the 1100R Model page doesn't really look like a true 1100 since it has some sort of engine cowling.

Lynn

Quoted from MiniMaxUSA



@erkki67 David T Is not with Mini-Max USA however we have spent some time talking to him and we are working on getting the AeroMax files all cut and planning on building a few here shortly. We do not currently sell the build plans for the AeroMax per-se, they are more just all the drawings of where each piece goes. It is sold as a full kit or in 4 separate "Mini-Kits"
As far as answering emails, they go directly to our phones so realistically as fast as we can reply. The first few weeks was a whirlwind of Q&A from all over so it took a bit to get all caught up but should be same day if not same hour currently.  

Hey

What did happen to the white prototype of the Aeromax hanging in the roof?

I could be interessted at that one!

My all time favorit was the green prototype, before the white one was built.

David T told me that there where some landing gear issues whith that one, but even then I would like to built that one too.

One of the subjects I & others had much interest in was the pros & cons of "teleflex" for the control mechanism.
There were some GREAT solid elevator control designs by a few members as well as some more involved/complicated linkage designs for the ailerons. THAT is a "New design" element I would ( suggest) you look into implementing. Teleflex cables do work BUT... they are questionable. All one needs to do is look at the AD (or service bulletin) that came out regarding them and the (embarrassing) suggested fix...(Soft clear plastic tube & worm clamps!!!). The fact that there was NO REAL way to know when the crimped ends might break free and cause loss of control. Lack of being able to do a CONFIDENT pre-flight inspection of said same end connections. (As can be done visually with various other rod & turnbuckle connection types.
OK....It's time to get the Popcorn out & look up those old photos & builders that designed some of those ( better) systems.
Just some food for thought to J & J as the new owners.
PS: Best of luck & glad you/someone took control of the Max Ship!!

Quoted from TreeTopsTom One of the subjects I & others had much interest in was the pros & cons of "teleflex" for the control mechanism.
There were some GREAT solid elevator control designs by a few members as well as some more involved/complicated linkage designs for the ailerons. THAT is a "New design" element I would ( suggest) you look into implementing. Teleflex cables do work BUT... they are questionable. All one needs to do is look at the AD (or service bulletin) that came out regarding them and the (embarrassing) suggested fix...(Soft clear plastic tube & worm clamps!!!). The fact that there was NO REAL way to know when the crimped ends might break free and cause loss of control. Lack of being able to do a CONFIDENT pre-flight inspection of said same end connections. (As can be done visually with various other rod & turnbuckle connection types.
OK....It's time to get the Popcorn out & look up those old photos & builders that designed some of those ( better) systems.
Just some food for thought to J & J as the new owners.
PS: Best of luck & glad you/someone took control of the Max Ship!!

Absolutely something to look into here. I will begin trolling back and see what I can find from the past. Our main push in the beginning is to push the dual elevator cable system. We have a few other ideas rolling around right now to try to breath a little more life back into the brand so stay tuned!