Build, then fly?

[Neil]

I had always wanted to build an airplane but had not really looked into very deeply. A friend from the days when my Dad ran a Hobby Shop contacted me about making some parts for a Grumman Wildcat. He owned a Pitts (and what model builder doesn't love a Pitts) and after looking it over I knew this was something I could build. My friend was starting an Air Center and asked if I was interested in learning to fly.(dumb question) I saw a copy of Homebuilt Aircraft (1982) at the news stand that had John Monett's Sonerai design on the cover and being a big fan of the early Goodyear Racers I was hooked. I don't really remember which came first, ordering the kit or taking my first lesson but they all happened in the scope of about a week. I learned to fly as I was building which took almost exactly 2 years. I got checked out in a 65HP J-3 and with about 85 hours in my Log Book I test flew my Sonerai. The experience was great.

[Bill Greenwood]

Matt. I don't know about Kansas, but you can rent a Cirrus SR-20 at Leading Edge at Loveland, Colo, FNL,and I think there is a school at Denver Metro that has plastic wonders also.

[Darryn]

That is how I am doing it. Just finishing up an RV-12 and the flying lessons begin just as soon as the test phase is over. I found that by building before learning how to fly has helped me to understand more about an aircraft than any textbook could ever do.

[martymayes]

I don't really remember which came first, ordering the kit or taking my first lesson but they all happened in the scope of about a week. I learned to fly as I was building which took almost exactly 2 years. I got checked out in a 65HP J-3 and with about 85 hours in my Log Book I test flew my Sonerai. The experience was great.

Off subject, but I may have some photos of that airplane. I remember seeing it at a fly-in, a N. Louisiana airport sometime during the '80's. Perhaps one of the famed "Louisiana Championship Fly-in Series" lol. First 2L Sonerai I had ever seen in person and I later had a 2L project in progress for a while.

[turtle]

I'm not a builder, but I have owned a couple of planes. Two things come to mind about building before learning to fly.

First is, how do you know what you want? When I was learning I thought a C150 would suit me fine. After enough hours of going slow, I wanted a Grumman. After taking people up with me and needing to carry a little luggage, I wanted an Arrow. After seeing the maintenance requirements I wanted a Warrior. After trying a few small airports with rough grass strips I wanted a C172. What I ended up with was a TriPacer. Funny thing is I never thought about them when I started looking, and I can't think of anything else I'd rather have now. All the other planes stopped me from doing at least one thing I later found I liked doing. Deciding what your mission is when you have no experience seems a little odd. Same for spending years building a high performance traveling machine and finding out you like slow cruising to little airstrips for pancake breakfasts.

Second is, how do you know what the cockpit should be like or what "improvements" you'd like to make? If I had a nickel for every RV builder that stuffed their panels with enough gizmos to make a 747 driver jealous, only to find out they just use the gps, I'd be rich. How do you know what the sight picture for landing is like before you decide to build the seat with a few extra degrees of tilt? Is a constant speed prop worth it to you? Really? Or are you just going by what other people said? Do you want to be one of the cool kids with a taildragger or a girlieman with a tricycle that has never had to worry about a groundloop? As a builder you are free to make changes, but it seems like a waste to spend months getting something perfect only to find out a different configuration is needed.

For me, getting a different airplane just costs money. For builders, I'd imagine there would be a little pride lost in realizing you built the wrong plane. Maybe to the point of suffering through it's drawbacks instead of selling or building another?