MichaelScott
Member
My name is Michael Scott. I am an A&P mechanic with Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas. I work in the Citation Service Center on the Citation business jets produced here. Prior to working here I was in the Air Force as a KC-135 mechanic for 10 years. I like what I'm doing now a whole lot better. Lately, I've had the bug to design and build a homebuilt airplane. I'd spent time looking at kitplanes and plans-built planes, but nothing really struck me as very practical or useful. I have a wife and three step-children and I've been looking for something that would carry all of us, with the range and speed to make the venture worthwhile. Neither myself nor my wife are from Kansas, so a model with respectable range and cruise speed was required. The only planes out there capable of those stipulations are incredibly expensive and are rather uninspiring in design. Recently, I saw an article in "Sport Aviation" on the Dyke Delta. It had many of the features that I was looking for, plus the design really caught my eye. But, it's only a four-seater, and I need at least five. So, that afternoon I sat down and came up with a design based on the Dyke Delta, but different enough so as not to be a copycat. I moved the double delta wing back as far as possible, swapped the engine/prop to the rear, enlarged the cabin to seat six people and smoothed out the lines a little. I've been fighting with the possibilities of construction: all metal, all composite, or a combination of the two. I'm about half-done with the preliminary drawings and still don't have any idea which concept to use. I've never built anything bigger than a plastic model airplane, other than the projects related to my job. I've been leaning on my A&P training and experience to guide me in design. It would be great to talk to some of you and get your suggestions and ideas.
