I have always loved flying. I graduated from college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and started working by designing the mechanical and electronic packaging of the communications systems for the C-17 in 1986. I got married, bought a house, and as the house needed repairs, I began to learn how to fix them. This included plumbing, dry wall, carpentry, framing and electrical. I could fix anything if I had the right tools. I enjoyed the work and took pride in my craftsmanship.
A few years later I resumed flight training out of Morristown Airport (MMU) with the 150th Aero Flying Club. We owned 4 planes, all Cessna’s. I quickly got my Private license and then quickly obtained my Instrument license and High Performance Complex Airplane endorsement. My wife and I started going places. We went to Boston for dinner, North Carolina for a weekend of golf/beach and when my son was born in May; his first flight was an IFR flight on Father’s Day to Vermont to see his great grandparents and grandparents.
The weather on Father’s Day was overcast with drizzle. All the planes had previously been booked but because of the weather, they were now available. My wife liked the C177 and it had LORAN so we booked it for the day and went to Bennington VT. The flight was completely uneventful. It was the smoothest flight I have ever been on. We entered the clouds around 2,000 feet AGL and came out at 1800 ft AGL with the airport right where it should be. We ate lunch, visited with relatives and made the IFR trip home during daylight.
We continued going places but I felt the planes were not really equipped or intended for long cross country trips. Most of the clubs missions were weekend trips for $100 hamburgers. I wanted a plane that was faster than the 182RG and was better equipped for longer cross country flights and incorporated enhanced safety equipment.
Life happens. We had a daughter and before we knew it, it had been 5-10-15 years since I last flew. We moved into a larger home, improvements got increasingly complicated and I still found I could build and repair anything if I only had the time. I st
arted getting subscriptions to AOPA again. I learned about the exploding experimental arena and explored the more popular, known and predictable planes and decided I could do this. I finally settled on the VANS RV-10.
This is a 4 place aircraft that can actually carry 4 full size adults with speed and reliability. I could equip it the way I wanted. I could maintain it the way I wanted to and it would be all mine. But I would have to build it! I knew I could do it, but would I really like building? Others have said if you like building; build…If you like flying; buy.
The kids went to college and I had more time available. I found an EAA Sport sheet metal class in Frederick MD. I registered for it and on March 2013, I went and learned all about sheet metal construction. I had done a lot of reading before the class and watched a lot of videos of people building so I knew what to expect. I just needed to experience it. I sat in the class, listened to my instructor explain all about deburring, drilling, riveting, edge distances, stress cracking etc. I felt like I was back at Union College taking an engineering class.
We finally got to the hands-on portion of the build. My college education, my watching of build videos and listening to the instructor paid off. I was able to finish the first samples and then the sample airfoil. It was not always easy, but it all made complete sense to me. I got a 100% on the sample airfoil.
I drove home vowing to get the garage organized and then order the first part of the RV-10 Kit. I already had my wife’s blessing, but I knew I would need to finish the “Honey Do List” before I could work on the shop. Part of that list was being able to get cars into the garage.