Lofty Ambitions: The Greenhorn Prospectus.

[DavidLawson]

Greetings all,

My name is David, and though I haven't the first clue what I am talking about; I am very, VERY excited to be here! :D

As far as introductions are concerned, I am a 32 yr. old Coast Guard veteran. I live/grew up here in Tampa Bay, Fl. Though I love scuba and sailing, I always smiled when passing by the local air-park but was all but certain that you needed 2 college degree's and a small fortune to get into aviation, I quickly wrote the idea off.

My landing here has been a fascinating progression. One day after the real estate "Great Recession" crash, I found myself with nothing but the clothes on my back. I lost the new car, fancy condo, all the material things that never made me smile anyway. Besides, to heck with that concrete jungle, the traffic, and rude people stacked up on one another. I needed to escape!

With nothing better to do, I went for a long walk. Feeling jaded, and sick inside, I asked the man upstairs for a goal worth working for. I said a long prayer, looked up and without realizing it, I had stopped right in from of KCLW; the Clearwater Air Park. They explained that a "Private Pilots License" could be had for as little as 10K. (That's a lot of bread for a darn near homeless guy! :oops: )

I just couldn't shake that thought though. It felt... inspiring. Well that was 3 years ago, I took what little I had left and bought a 1973 VW beetle and started back in college. I have been restoring it bit by bit. I loved the nostalgia and air-cooled simplicity. It reminds me of that town from the Andy Griffith Show, - Mayberry. A month ago I finally got the engine in my car and set up an interview for internship at the VA hospital here. They told me my background in nursing and business adminstration was in great demand now and the pay.... well perhaps I can afford that dream one day afterall! :D

I was recounting this very series of events to a buddy, he was very aware of my situation and had watched me work through it inch by inch. He explained that they put VW air cooled engines in home built aircraft such as the "Volksplane." I asked him how he knew this and he remarked: "Because I am a commercial pilot & flight instructor, I see them all the time." :shock:

He further explained that he was just getting his medical clearance back and would gladly cover my ground school, buy my books, and work with my till I get my PPL!!

If you're still reading this please excuse the length, I don't have a wife or family, this dream has quite literally kept me alive these last few years. But I, like any 30 year old, want to have my cake and eat it too.

I looked up "bitchin' home built aircraft, air-cooled". What I found was an AIR-COOLED, folding wing, 2 place, Corvair powered, SONEX on FLOATS!!!!! :o :ugeek:

"I Have a Dream!"

Sonex_floats_040204_2.jpg (36.29 KiB) Viewed 6534 times

I spoke with Brian at Sonex, he said this could all be done in a few years for under 40K!

Perhaps I am blowing smoke where it doesn't belong. Yes, none of this might ever come to pass. However, even though I have barely anything more than when I first started, - I have hope! :D

This is a VERY 'Bitchin" forum..... SonexBuilders.net, thank you guys for helping keep my dream ALIVE!!!

Respectfully,

Dave Lawson.

[SonexN76ET]

Dave,

Many, many years ago I dreamed of building my own plane. I kept the dream alive by reading all the flying magazines and going to airshows. While serving in Afghanistan, I promised myself that I would build my dream plane. Life got in the way, and it was several years later that I finally got a start. One thing that I wish that I had done right away is to get started on something that could tangibly keep the dream moving forward. With the Sonex, you have that something within your reach right now. Buy a Sonex tail kit and get started building. Then when you get a few more bucks you can buy the next few components and keep it moving. Before you know it, you will have that plane ready to fly!

Also, Sonex offers builders workshops a couple times a year that are really fun and informative!

Good luck! Keep that dream alive!

Jake

[Major4567]

Dave

I'm a sport pilot. That can be had for 5-6k and about half the time. The Sonex is sport pilot legal and still lots of fun! The Sonex community is a wealth of knowledge with a very diverse background and always eager to help. Just ask.

Keep the dream alive and it will become reality!

Steve

[Major4567]

PS

Would like to thank you and all of our veterans for the service!

Steve

[Bryan Cotton]

If I can do it, with a wife, kids, and a job then I say anybody can do it.

[Sonex1517]

Go for it! If I can build and airplane you can too! (Wife, kid, travel for work, not handy with tools)

As a veteran I also add my thanks.

Great post. Thank you for sharing!


Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Chicagoland
Tails and Wings complete - finishing fuselage.
N1517S reserved

[dtwolcott]

Dave
Go for it!
Don't do as I did. I always wanted to have my own plane to fly but they were all to expensive. In the 80's I flew up to Oshkosh to the airshow for one day with a friend of mine that was a pilot. I was not aware that there was anything like this. I saw several planes that could be built at home and continued to make excuses as to why I couldn't build one. The usual married, job, kids and etc. Finally last year I made up my mind to just do it and am building a Waiex. I am 71 with no more excuses. Only wish I had done this years ago.
Don

[vwglenn]

Welcome Dave. While I didn't build my Sonex I thought about it for a long time. I've been eyeballing these things for a decade or more and finally got mine last November. It's a dream worth having. I fell in love with the plane for the VW power as well but found a Jab3300 powered version I just couldn't pass up. The cool thing about kit planes in general is you don't have to have all the $ up front. You can build them in spurts purchasing what you can afford as you can afford it. No need to buy the kit. you can just get the plans and a few second hand tools and get started. The Sonex is very versatile that way. Another cool thing about the product is the large community of builders and owners. The plane is popular enough that any problem or question you might have can be or already has been answered. You certainly have the skills to build a Sonex and are already partially ahead of the game if you have the tools and know-how to keep your VW rolling.

Good luck.

[DavidLawson]

How Exciting!

Thank you all for the warm welcome. The Sonex rep told me to go to the Sun-n-Fun in lakeland on April 15th for their expo. That sounds like something I ought to attend. Furthermore, since you all have read where I am at.... exactly where would you all start reading on this forum to get a better grasp of the goings on?

Getting my PPL is a priority but I would like to fully consider this in parallel. Thank you all for your time and consideration.

~David.

[vwglenn]

You should certainly go to Sun-N-Fun. The Sonex guys are easy to talk to and you can get all the information you are capable of soaking up. If I remember correctly, there is a gathering of Sonex Aircraft sometime during the show at an airport to the North (Zepherhills?). I'm crossing my fingers that I have my plane to a point where I can get down there this year.

The good thing for a guy on a tight budget is you don't need a PPL to fly a Sonex. All you need is a LSA certificate which takes less time and $.

Where to start...
I'd start by making my decision as to which Sonex product most interests you and build your dream airplane on paper with conservative cost estimates. Then research each component to try to get more feedback (ie, tailwheel, nosedragger, center stick, steam gauges, EFIS, and so on).