What we were looking for:

In the simplest of terms we were looking for an airplane that had the capabilities to land/depart from one specific landing strip in Northern Idaho. Tuka is definately high-performance territory. Our 172 makes it out safe and sound as long as Aimee and baggage hitch a ride to the local paved runway.

There are so many interesting places to visit by plane and we came to the realization that a 172 with a 145hp engine was not going to get us to them. Well, it will get us there, it's just that whole getting-out-part we'd have to worry about.

We knew from the get-go that a kit was the way to go for us. Shawn has had some experience with metalwork, electrical, and powerplants (mainly cars) and Aimee knew what a hammer was used for. A plans-built plane sounds interesting but we simply don't have the time or the background.

How we came to our conclusion:

Our first idea was to upgrade our 172 with a bigger engine. But after a fairly substantial outlay of funds we'd still end up with a zippy 172. And while the 172 is a spectacular plane it sorta lacks in the "cool" category (and you pilot-types know what we mean). So scrap that and find 04F a new home someday.

Second idea was to buy a 182. We'd get the performance we wanted but would still be left with a plane that required a licensed mechanic for most any work needed. One of the things that made an experimental plane sound so inviting was the ability to do our own work.

We saw the prototype Sportsman at the 2004 Arlington Airshow and found it to be quite impressive though it seemed a bit out of our budget. We spent some time chatting with a very pleasant Glastar builder from Canada but just thought that we could get the same performance from something less expensive. Aimee's dad had always thought he'd like to build a Murphy Moose so we started studying the Murphy Elite (the Moose was a bit larger than we wanted). We also looked into the Kitfox and the Bearhawk. Most of these planes fit the bill.... sort of. Everyone of them had some compromise that we could not agree on. Amazing kits and planes but not exactly what we wanted in the end. What to do?!

So back to the Sportsman. Yes, a bit pricier than we wanted but it did absolutely everything that was on our "list". Great takeoff/landing performance, nice cruising speed, excellent load carrying capabilities, and it was cute (ok, that last one was an Aimee-requirement). Check out New Glasair and all of their stylish planes at www.newglasair.com. Another good thing for us is that Arlington, where New Glasair is located, is about 35 miles up the road from where we live. We headed up to Arlington one day and took a test flight in their Sportsman. Wow. And to top it all off we got a tour of the facilities. We saw how everything was packaged (so neat and tidy) and watched them forming up a "roll-cage" and the various fiberglass parts for the fuselage.

But alas, Aimee could not decide. Such a scary undertaking this whole plane-building thing was. New Glasair, in their infinite wisdom, got us in touch with a Glastar builder in our area. We met up with Tom Madden with the express idea of picking his brain to see if this was all it was cracked up to be. Not the meeting we were expecting. We got the proverbial "here's my plane" tour and all was going as planned until Tom looked at us and asked what about the building process worried us the most. (I think I mumbled "All of it.") Shawn piped up and said "Riveting". In short order Tom had all the tools out and some scrap aluminum and we were riveting. Not that we did a great job, but it removed the mystery and made this whole task seem quite doable.

How convenient that a tail-kit suddenly became available at Glasair! Sold. Picked up. Building.