Sorry Mark, apparently I struck a nerve...
I have no desire to circumvent the STC process or "steal" from Mr. Dodge... In fact, I hold an STC to install a turbocharger on a Cessna 185... If someone "reverse engineered" my installation to turbo their 185, I'd be very upset... If someone wishes to make the same installation on their 6 cylinder, Continental powered homebuilt, have at it... After going through the STC process on my 185, I can appreciate why Mr. Dodge feels that he should be renumerated for his efforts... But, we're talking an "experimental" here... If I purchase Mr. Dodge's step and it fails, he has a liability issue to contend with... If I make the step and it fails, I pay for the Doctor bills... Once again, this is an experimental aircraft, when it was built, it was an experiment, when I screw something on it, it's an experiment and more importantly, when I fly it, it's an experiment...
Just for the record, when I install this step, it won't be just like Mr. Dodge's step... It may be longer, it may be shorter, it won't be powder coated, it probably won't have bent up ends, but Mr. Dodge and Mark Drath will be happy to know that if it fails, the failure is David's experiment...
Off from soapbox...