Why Build a Bearhawk?
Why build?
It’s a question that I’ve been asked dozens of times
since I’ve started this project.
Usually the question is vocalized with qualifying
statements like, “What do you mean full size?
You don’t plan on getting in it do you?” or “When did you learn how
to do that?” and once in a while, “That’s cool”.
Most have no concept of what I’m undertaking, and their eyes will glaze
over as I enthusiastically convey what a great idea it is to build a plane.
That’s OK, planes aren’t for everyone.
Homebuilding, it seems, is for only a fraction of that number.
So, how does one come to the conclusion that building an airplane is the
thing for them? I haven’t the
foggiest idea how others decide, I do know what I went through in my decision
making process. I’m going to
attempt to put that process down in words. If
I fail miserably, please bear in mind that if I were an accomplished author,
I’d be charging for my thoughts and words.
I chose to build for many reasons. A challenge, transportation, a hobby, a
means to an end, even creating something that will (hopefully) outlive me.
You could say it is my way of leaving my mark on the world.
Of all the reasons I could come up with for building, the
item that tops the list is my need for something new to engage my brain.
Work is the same old same old day in, and day out. I
hear the same questions over and over. I
have developed practiced responses. It’s
a rare day when something I haven’t done hundreds of times before crosses my
path.
Building a plane on the other hand; that’s a project that
will really get you thinking. Metal
shaping, project planning, resource allocation, welding, woodworking . . .
the list is nearly endless. It’s this aspect of building a plane that
really intrigued me. I enjoy
learning all of the new skills, working with new materials, meeting with like
minded people and most of all I love figuring out solutions to problems.
Another item that brought me into the homebuilding world
was the current cost of aircraft. A
new Cessna 172 retails for 200k +. I
certainly don’t have that kind of money available to make this kind of
purchase. A 30 year old Cessna can
still be in the 75k realm. Again I
just couldn’t justify that kind of expense for a 30 year old aircraft no
matter how well maintained.
Then you could add the cost of annual inspections to the cost of
ownership. After hearing horror
stories about 10k annuals I seriously started to doubt that I would ever be able
to afford my own airplane. If the
purchase price didn’t kill me the upkeep would.
So that left me with the Experimental class.
For relatively cheap money I could build my own plane.
I would know every detail, every nut, every bolt, every rivet and crimp.
I would be the manufacturer, and I would do the upkeep.
I wouldn’t have to worry about the methods of the local mechanic, or
what the last pilot may have done to it. It
just seemed to make sense to me.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Gary Corde.
Gary
had built his own RV6 some years prior, and was just a wealth of information in
most all things aviation related.
Gary
has nurtured my experience in flight from the first time I spoke of taking
lessons. I’ve known
Gary
for a number of years now. He and I
both ride dirt bikes, and belong to an online forum for the sport.
It was in a dirt bike chat room that we first started speaking about my
pursuit of a pilot’s license.
As my training progressed
Gary
would quiz me on different topics I needed to learn, and he would take the time
to answer all of my questions. He
became a mentor to me. I didn’t
know it then, but he was also laying the groundwork to get me sucked into this
world of homebuilt airplanes. Thanks Gary :).
I could probably stretch this out for another couple of pages.
I still might add to this page from time to time.
But, in the end, after defining my mission, taking a look at my finances,
determining the skill level needed, and checking with my wife, I am building for
a purely selfish reason:
Because I want to
How much more reason do I really need?
Keith Salisbury
