377ulrotax
Member
Hello,
I guess I should start at the beginning. I had my first ride in an airplane when I was about 10-11 years old. I used to hang around the small rural airport that was right next door to my house, and one day a private pilot gave me a ride.
After that I hung out there as much as possible. I paid for a couple more rides over the next year or two, but money was always an issue. Then a new operator took over the airport and the new manager offered to trade me airtime for work pumping avgas and selling oil. I got a few rides in gliders which had just come in with the new operation and some rides in the tow plane as well.
It was a pretty great summer that year.
After that I joined the Civil Air Patrol and added some more time to my experience. With not many other things available at the end of the 70s I joined the AirForce and worked on B-52 training devices. Specifically the bombadier's trainer. At the end of my first tour I ended up working on a railcar B-52 and KC-135 flight simulator. Not as glamorous as thier modern day video game counterparts.
Unfortunately, the career field was farmed out to the civilian sector and I moved on to F-111 avionics. After 7 years I had had enough and left the Airforce soured on aircraft and disappointed in the modern military of the day.:tired:
My wife and I came home to try to start a more normal life, and I slowly turned back towards aviation as a hobby. It was slow at first then things went from bad to worse as a medical condition popped up and took the wind from under my wings once again. I was a little more determined to fly though after I started recovery and started to check out the EAA and took a couple more flights. When I went for my physical I was taking too many medications to get a certificate, so I almost gave up. :depressed
Here it is about 7 years later and I've decided to make it without the excuses. I am going to go Ultralight, and build my own aircraft. I have joined the EAA and I'm deciding if I want to join another organization like the USUA, or just wait till I have a start on an aircraft. I pulled a Rotax 377 out of a SkiDoo at a salvage yard, and I'm going to try to get it in top shape and learn something about it in the process. This may not be the engine I end up using, but for $50.00 I don't have to worry about having paid too much.
So, there you are. I'm Allen Godin and I'm a junk yard Junky, and future aircraft builder.
You'll probably get irritated with me at times as the people at FiberGlassics do. (The Internet's Best and Only Classic Fiberglass Boat Site) http://www.fiberglassics.com
I'm a pretty normal mental case though, so we should all blend in quite nicely. :laugh: :ban:
I guess I should start at the beginning. I had my first ride in an airplane when I was about 10-11 years old. I used to hang around the small rural airport that was right next door to my house, and one day a private pilot gave me a ride.
After that I hung out there as much as possible. I paid for a couple more rides over the next year or two, but money was always an issue. Then a new operator took over the airport and the new manager offered to trade me airtime for work pumping avgas and selling oil. I got a few rides in gliders which had just come in with the new operation and some rides in the tow plane as well.
It was a pretty great summer that year.
After that I joined the Civil Air Patrol and added some more time to my experience. With not many other things available at the end of the 70s I joined the AirForce and worked on B-52 training devices. Specifically the bombadier's trainer. At the end of my first tour I ended up working on a railcar B-52 and KC-135 flight simulator. Not as glamorous as thier modern day video game counterparts.
Unfortunately, the career field was farmed out to the civilian sector and I moved on to F-111 avionics. After 7 years I had had enough and left the Airforce soured on aircraft and disappointed in the modern military of the day.:tired:
My wife and I came home to try to start a more normal life, and I slowly turned back towards aviation as a hobby. It was slow at first then things went from bad to worse as a medical condition popped up and took the wind from under my wings once again. I was a little more determined to fly though after I started recovery and started to check out the EAA and took a couple more flights. When I went for my physical I was taking too many medications to get a certificate, so I almost gave up. :depressed
Here it is about 7 years later and I've decided to make it without the excuses. I am going to go Ultralight, and build my own aircraft. I have joined the EAA and I'm deciding if I want to join another organization like the USUA, or just wait till I have a start on an aircraft. I pulled a Rotax 377 out of a SkiDoo at a salvage yard, and I'm going to try to get it in top shape and learn something about it in the process. This may not be the engine I end up using, but for $50.00 I don't have to worry about having paid too much.
So, there you are. I'm Allen Godin and I'm a junk yard Junky, and future aircraft builder.
You'll probably get irritated with me at times as the people at FiberGlassics do. (The Internet's Best and Only Classic Fiberglass Boat Site) http://www.fiberglassics.com
I'm a pretty normal mental case though, so we should all blend in quite nicely. :laugh: :ban:
