Members of the Golden Belt chapter of the Experimental Aviation Association want people to know that aviation can be for anyone. This is the message the group hopes to share with attendees of the Great Bend Airport Airfest when the show returns Sept. 17-19.
EAA, which has around 25 members locally and around 160,000 members nationwide, seeks to promote the fun and affordability of aviation, home aviation in particular. Several of the group’s local members are “homebuilders,” constructing their own small aircraft.
In addition to having an exhibit at this year’s Airfest, the group is involved in helping organize and put on the event. The group also hosts fly-ins for other local chapters at least once a year, where enthusiasts can gather, share knowledge and information.
Brandyn Kilgore, president of the local EAA chapter, said the exhibit at this year’s show will involve a hands-on “before and after” demonstration of the aircraft home-building process. Kilgore will have a partially constructed Vans RV7A aircraft fuselage at the show, while another member will bring a fully-finished home-built aircraft. Between the two, the group will have a booth where people can experience the aircraft building process hands-on by drilling holes, riveting aircraft parts together and more.
With their display at the Airfest, the EAA members hope to debunk many of the myths that surround the average person becoming involved in aviation.
The first, Kilgore said, is that a person has to be wealthy to get involved with aviation as a hobby.
“We’re wanting to show how simple and affordable (aviation can be),” Kilgore said. “One of the biggest misconceptions about aviation is it’s a rich man’s game, (but) it doesn’t take a rich man to get started.”
Depending on how involved a person wants to be in the aircraft process, he said, aircraft building kits can be purchased for anywhere from a few thousand dollars upward.
Kilgore, for example, became involved in home aviation through another EAA member, and found an affordable kit, a fully aerobatic model that – once fully constructed – can travel up to 200 miles an hour and can fly for four hours on a full tank of fuel. The kit he purchased comes in sections from the tail forward to the fuselage, the engine and avionics of the aircraft.
While the process can seem daunting and complicated, Kilgore said many of the kits do not require advanced mechanical knowledge, high-priced tools or a great deal of space.
“All I needed were some hand tools, a drill, a bench-top saw and pliers and a screwdriver,” he said. “It’s really pretty easy to get into and you could really start in your garage.”
Kilgore said he is constructing his own plane at home in his two-car garage. Even less mechanically-experienced individuals can learn how to construct the planes. He said video streaming services like YouTube have made home aviation much more accessible for the masses.
“You can be the most novice person ever,” Kilgore said. “If you want, you can get kits that are pre-punched completely, where you’re literally lining up holes and putting in rivets with pop rivets.”
Depending on the kit a person purchases and the amount of time they want to invest in it, the process of constructing a plane at home can take anywhere from a year to 10 years. Kilgore is three years into the build of his own plane, and expects to be finished within the next two years.
No special licensing is required is to construct a plane at home, he said. It is important to thoroughly document the whole building process, however, because once the aircraft is constructed it must go through a rigorous FAA inspection and a 40-hour fly-off inspection process before it can be flown.
He added, though, that flight training is recommended for those who want to get into home aviation. The Great Bend Airport, he noted, has flight training and rental aircraft available for anyone interested in becoming a pilot.
