The FAA publicly lists all current and expired aircraft registrations. Scouring the lists for all E-Racers, I found 11 active and 9 inactive tail numbers.
Currently-Registered Airplanes
Most of this data in the following table was captured on April 6, 2025.
| Tail Number | Plans Number | Builder/Owner | Location | Last Known Flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N101TR | 125 | Randall Goeke | Minnesota | Unknown |
| N103MH | 52 | Call One Inc. | Iowa | December 31, 2020 |
| N130B | 27 | Robert Moore | California | May 25, 2021 |
| N339G | 361 | Robert Orsolits | Florida | May 4, 2023 |
| N382RB | 115 | Roch LaRocca | Georgia | April 3, 2025 |
| N4TX | Bagaero Inc. | Texas | December 5, 2022 | |
| N5ZW | 109 | Bruce Vinnola | Wyoming | May 29, 2018 |
| N61ER | 9 | Clifford Cady | Florida | May 7, 2016 |
| 45 | Bob Peck (builder) R. Ryan (current owner) | California | Unknown | |
| N74DE | Robert Ohletz (builder) Michael Vohland (current owner) | California | April 24, 2024 | |
| N9RC | 348 | Rondle Castle | Arizona | December 30, 2024 |
Deregistered Airplanes
For any number of reasons, airplanes can be deregistered with the FAA. Sometimes it’s as simple as the airplane has been down for maintenance for years. Too often, the airplane is destroyed and the owner goes with it.
The following data comes from a combination of the FAA, Aviation DB, and the NTSB.
| Tail Number | Plans Number | Builder/Owner | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| N131RD | 1 | Shirlan “Shirl” Dickey | Deregistered in 2022. |
| N24ER | Orien Haguewood (builder) Erik Franks (owner) | Crashed on landing after unplanned takeoff during high-speed taxi in 2017, no fatalities. Registration cancelled in 2020. | |
| N345JM/ | 113, 186 | John Morrison | Gear collapse in 1999. Engine failure in 2000. Cabin fire in 2008. Completely destroyed in 2011, one fatality. |
| N4338X | 101 | William Pieper, Jr. | Registration cancelled in 2015. |
| Jeffrey Williams (builder) Richard Schubert (owner) | Registration cancelled in 2011. | ||
| N511KK | 275 | Kim Riley | Registration cancelled in 2018. |
| N8164G | 50 | Michael Harrison | Registration cancelled in 2013. |
| N96WM | 6 | Wesley Gardner | Completely destroyed in 1994, two fatalities. |
| N99G | 5 | Jimmie Hays | In-flight loss of propeller resulting in off-field landing in 1994, no fatalities. Registration cancelled in 2000. |
Airplanes Not Registered with the FAA
According to Airport Data, there are two E-Racers registered outside the purview of the FAA: F-PMKI, and LN-ERA. Since there is no current information from official sources on these aircraft, they are not included in either list. The last activity I could find from F-PMKI is a Homebuilt Airplanes post advertising the E-Racer for parts, and the wording indicates moderate-but-repairable damage.
Additionally, I found a mention of F-PYDR (plans number 326) that first flew in 2007. Unfortunately, it crashed in 2017 and was destroyed. The crash seriously injured the pilot, and the cause was likely an engine failure.
Commentary
There appear to be a lot of hangar queens or airplanes stuck in perpetual maintenance. Depending on what constitutes “flying”, there may be as few as three flying E-Racers.
My plans number is number 428. Including the two foreign E-Racers and assuming my plans were the last ever sold, the completion rate is just under 5%.
Five E-Racers have crash records, totaling three fatalities. Understanding why these airplanes crashed will help inform the decisions I will make on my E-Racer.
- The E-Racer prototype, N131RD, had a history of off-field and hard landings due to powerplant issues and at least one documented cabin fire.
- The pilot of N24ER got too aggressive during a high-speed taxi and took off. Interestingly, the damage occurred during the subsequent landing. Complicating matters, the pilot was a student.
- N99G had the propeller depart the airplane in-flight due to a propeller extension failure. Details are light, but the NTSB report suggests the extension may have been homemade.
- N345JM was modified and repaired to the point where it could barely be called an E-Racer, which ended up crashing and killing Mr. Morrison. The public docket from the NTSB is an interesting and sobering read.
- N96WM implemented a twist-grip throttle, which failed and led to the crash killing the pilot and passenger. Likely, the pilot’s failure to control the airplane with a stuck throttle caused the crash.
Note: plans numbers listed may be inaccurate. They are best guesses from the serial numbers listed in the registration.