Why I am building a plane

Well I figured that I will try this out and see how this goes. This is my first shot at putting anything on the net so who knows.

I have been interested in airplanes sense my 11th birthday when my dad took me to the neighboring island of Molokai. We flew over in this tiny death trap of a plane that held 8-10 people and I hated it. On the flight back the pilot asked if I wanted to sit in the empty copilot seat and I said no, but it was my birthday and well they got me in the seat.

He could probably tell that I was nervous so the pilot had me open my window, WHAT?! A window in an airplane? Well we were unpressurized flying at maybe 5000’ and there was a this little window that I opened and as soon as I opened it my eyes were stuck outside. As we flew back I saw Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head, and Waikiki beach before landing back at Honolulu International Airport.

That was it, I was hooked on flying! During high school I got into R/C airplanes and took ground school for my Private Pilots License but never had the money to go any further. That’s when I decided to go to college and do the Air Force ROCT program in hopes of getting to work around planes.

I went to school at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona and got a commission into the USAF via the ROTC program. The stars aligned and I not only commissioned but was fortunate enough to get a pilot slot.

So the stars continued to align for me as I made it threw pilot training and got my top choice and now currently fly the C-130 Hercules. I am based in Cheyenne, WY and don’t have any real reasons why I should not follow my dream of having my own airplane so I am starting to build a Vans RV-7.

I have looked into a lot of planes and after much research and getting to test drive the RV I decided it was for me. I wanted a plane that was fast, I could travel, aerobatic and I could teach people how to fly in. Oh yea it had to be free (shucks I couldn’t find that one). Check it out here: http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/rv-7int.htm

I bought the preview DVD in the summer of 2006 then had the Empennage kit sent to Synergy Air in Oregon where me and my dad built the tail in Jan 2007. After a long process of waiting for a house I finally got the Quick Build kit delivered in Oct 07.







Now I am ready to begin construction of my very own airplane!