RE: Bob Reuther-Tom Moore/Vertigo II SPA legal?
The first time I saw the plane was at Dan Gipe's factory at WING MFG. He now has the mold for that plane, and is considering producing it. It is a sharp-looking plane, and one of the "bridge" airplanes to the "ballistic-type" aircraft of the late 1070s...like the Curare, and Dirty Birdy. Unfortunately, Dan has not been able to do the "legwork" necessary to get concrete data of the date of its first flight, (or design). I know he would be interested in the plane being declared "legal" by Mickey Walker (founder of SPA, and official "approver" of aircraft).
KLXMASTER14
If there is a review in the Dec 1976 RCM, then it makes it much more likely the plane was designed prior to the Jan 1976 SPA legal plane cut-off....the reason being the delay between when an article is written and the time it is published. Articles are usually written at least 2-3 months before being pubished. That takes it to at least Sept of 1976.
For the plane to be "KNOWN", and to get enough of a reputation so someone will WANT to print something about it, it has to be noticed. For that to happen, it has to fly, be seen by the right people, and to get some sort of positive reputation.
Progressing backwards, for the plane to be noticed etc, it first has to be designed, then built then flown, in the right places.....all of these take time, so I think there is a very good chance the plane is SPA-legal, but it will need official documentation, either in the form of an article, or a letter from the designer.
If you are like me, (with the heart of a detective), I'd start by Google-ing the designers. You may get lucky and get some leads.
It is very satisfying when you take a little bit of extra effort to "chase down" something that interests you, and do the necessary research. Sometimes just a little extra effort, (a small push on the door), will open it up. I think this might be one of those cases.
That was how the World Model Intruder got reintroduced, and ultimately improved for SPA flying....that little extra effort to "push on the door" and see if it opens.
Good luck
Duane