Of course there is a third legal way of getting the best of both worlds, and that's the builder assist and the Pro From Dover.

I used the builder's assist program Airdrome Airplanes has for their kits, which is really more of a hands-on ninja course on the how's and best practices of tube and gusset construction (within the WWI replica community it's affectionately known as "Robert Baslee's House of Pain"). The key is that it's a true builder's assist - the builder does the bulk of the work with Robert and Jim overseeing and lending a hand. I can't remember the name of the form, but both of their names are on mine as assistants in building.

I know a guy that did not trust his welding abilities and after putting everything into jigs hired a welder to throw the beads. This is also legal and well within the intent of the 51% rule; most of the fuselage work is actually in the setup to the welding, not the welding itself. Plus loads of guys hire out to get their planes painted.

In my case I'm also bringing in a Pro From Dover for my engine, fuel, and electrical installation stuff. I could suss it out myself, but why not take advantage of an expert in my EAA chapter who's willing to help out? His name will go on the doofy little form, too; but I'll be right there doing as much of the work as I can. Since he'll be working without pay he's an amateur as well, so all those tasks - even if he did it with me watching while drinking coffee - are 100% amateur built.

49% of a construction job done by professionals is a lot, when one thinks about it. And by professional I mean "farmed out." More than a few kits come with the fuselage frame completed, and that meets the rules no problem, as that's just the starting point on it.

While one could build their aircraft in a vaccuum by themselves, few do. Between build groups in person and on the Internet to technical counselors from the EAA there's a lot of opportunities to ensure one is doing things correctly. The thing I've found out about homebuilders is while we're full of confidence and optimists by nature we're also very cautious and prudent in making build decisions. There have been many delays in my own build because I hit a task or procedure that I was unsure of how to do properly (or at all) and had to seek out someone to either tell or show me how to do it.

It was this need and desire for homebuilders to have a network of other builders to be a resource for ensuring they were doing things properly (and come out with safe aircraft) that some guy named Paul gathered up some of his nutter builder friends in his basement for regular meetings back in 1953....