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Permalink Reply by Christopher Nail on August 11, 2013 at 1:58pm

You need to have your ppl done before you "test fly" your plane. Otherwise someone else will have to do the 40 hour fly off period before you could receive dual instruction in your own plane.

I think beinf a pilot while building the plane will help you figure out human factors stuff (instruments, switch placement, etc) as well as deciding how robust of a system you want (electric, vacuum, glass, steam gauges, comm/nav/GPS). I think it's also important to know how a plane works and operates in flight while building it.

That isn't to say you don't learn anything during the build process. I think my knowledge base about aircraft systems improved dramatically during my bundling. I couldn't imagine, however, building a kit without being a pilot.

I would go to the rudder workshop at zenith and decide if building and flying this plane is for you (you get a free flight). From there I would work on the tail and fuselage kits while doing ground school and soloing. This is assuming you have alot of free time.

Otherwise, if you have a full time job, I'd knock out a PPL then build the kit. Dividing your time between to totally different tasks might not be fruitful for either task.

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Permalink Reply by Gary Engelman on August 11, 2013 at 2:15pm

Thanks for your reply Christopher, let me start off by saying that I have a A&P license and about 20 hurs in a glider. My intent is to have a sport pilot's license as opposed to a private pilot's license. From your message it sounds like I will have to acquire flight training in another plane before I can fly my own plane. I guess this was something I was trying to avoid, I was thinking that I could use my own plane for flight training to help reduce the
cost. S0 much for that plan, lol

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Permalink Reply by Jim B Belcher on August 11, 2013 at 2:45pm

I'm both an A&P and an instrument rated pilot. While I think pilots have a slightly different perspective of aircraft than do A&Ps (and some of that perspective is good), I think your A&P will give you most of the background you need.

The problem with getting a pilot's certificate before you have an airplane is that you will be very rusty before the aircraft is finished. In my view, that's particularly true for low time pilots.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Stanton on August 11, 2013 at 2:15pm

If you have someone that you get along with that would be willing to fly off the 40 hrs. for you, then get a instructer that is willing to teach in a OBAM plane, you got it made.

I was lucky in that regard.

A lot of guys build and then learn to fly. Nothing wrong with that.

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Permalink Reply by Gary Engelman on August 11, 2013 at 2:51pm

That was the same though I had. It would be hard to do, letting someone fly your new plane.

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