josephdfco
Active Member
Hi everyone! I'm 50 years old, and finally getting ready to fulfill a life-long dream of building my own airplanes. I'm a former submariner/FMF (combat) corpsman who finished his naval career, became a truck driver, mover, and machinist. I'm now a student on my last pre-med semester, but life circumstances have rendered medical school unrealistic for the time being, and I'm going to need a serious project to keep me out of trouble 
I have a machine shop in my basement (2 lathes, vertical mill, surface grinder, TIG/stick welder, air compressor, sandblaster, etc.) and all the full-size blueprints and construction manuals for the Cri-Cri. This plane appeals to me for many reasons, but primarily it seems like one of a very few that I can both build in, AND remove from, my condo's basement. It being sheet metal is also appealing, being that I'm pretty well tooled up for it with a few exceptions, and this woul;d be the perfect excuse to buy some metalworking tools that I wanted anyway. Also, to be able to purchase small amounts of material whenever I manage to squirrel away a bit of extra money as we can afford it is definitely a plus.
I know this is a difficult project, but I'm used to tackling very difficult projects that many would say are too complicated. In days long past, I scratch-built some guns that many would say couldn't be built at home, and they were stunning and singularly unique. Still, the plans were written by somebody who, though he's obviously incredibly brilliant, perhaps is less adept at conveying instructions in his second language (a task that I couldn't hope to accomplish myself), so I was hoping to have some guidance from more experienced members with interpreting some of his instructions.
I was also hoping that anyone who has anything that might be pertinent to this project (parts,documentation that I don't have, etc) or any projects, especially ultralights, that anybody is looking to get rid of for a low price, to please contact me. I had also been considering putting together or purchasing an ultralight or LSA that I could get off the ground sooner in the interim, this being a long-term project. Also, I'd like to offer help with anyone else's projects if there's something I can do in my shop. Thank you all very much for having me!
Warmest regards, Joe D.
I have a machine shop in my basement (2 lathes, vertical mill, surface grinder, TIG/stick welder, air compressor, sandblaster, etc.) and all the full-size blueprints and construction manuals for the Cri-Cri. This plane appeals to me for many reasons, but primarily it seems like one of a very few that I can both build in, AND remove from, my condo's basement. It being sheet metal is also appealing, being that I'm pretty well tooled up for it with a few exceptions, and this woul;d be the perfect excuse to buy some metalworking tools that I wanted anyway. Also, to be able to purchase small amounts of material whenever I manage to squirrel away a bit of extra money as we can afford it is definitely a plus.
I know this is a difficult project, but I'm used to tackling very difficult projects that many would say are too complicated. In days long past, I scratch-built some guns that many would say couldn't be built at home, and they were stunning and singularly unique. Still, the plans were written by somebody who, though he's obviously incredibly brilliant, perhaps is less adept at conveying instructions in his second language (a task that I couldn't hope to accomplish myself), so I was hoping to have some guidance from more experienced members with interpreting some of his instructions.
I was also hoping that anyone who has anything that might be pertinent to this project (parts,documentation that I don't have, etc) or any projects, especially ultralights, that anybody is looking to get rid of for a low price, to please contact me. I had also been considering putting together or purchasing an ultralight or LSA that I could get off the ground sooner in the interim, this being a long-term project. Also, I'd like to offer help with anyone else's projects if there's something I can do in my shop. Thank you all very much for having me!
Warmest regards, Joe D.
