I started flying with my father when I was nine after my family acquired
a Cessna 170A.  Seven years later the family upgraded to a Ryan Navion.
My first solo was under a CAP scholarship at 17 in a PA12 (three place club) base at
Lewis B. Wilson airport (MCN) in Macon.  I entered flight training in the
Navy in 1974, flying as an NFO in the E-2.  I finished my private license in 1976.  After that I received
my complex sign off in 1978 flying T-34's from the Navy Flying club in
Memphis TN.  The most fun I had was flying a Champ out of Brown Field in San
Diego.

I joined the EAA back in 1975 or 1976 after the Varieze came out.  I paid for a
lifetime membership way back then.  One of the best deals going.  Over
27 years, I think it paid for itself.

I discussed building an airplane with my father around 1974.  We even
discussed the possibility of rebuilding a PT22, but we never could find
one cheap enough.  Dad died in 1979 without us ever even picking an
aircraft.

I had been following the Europa development since 1993/94 before they opened
an office in Lakeland.  The aircraft is inexpensive to maintain, and
easily trailerable.  It was very efficient with a top end around 140 to
160 on only 80 hp.  And the cockpit was 44 inches wide.  (The widest
homebuilt I could find at the time.)

In 1999 my finances were beginning to look good.  I had been talking about
building a plane for almost 20 years and when an stage one kit (not started)
came on the market at half price (by today's prices),  I decided it was
time to put up or shut up.  So the stage one kit became my Christmas
present to myself.  Now I just needed someone to teach me how to build
the darn thing.

After talking to Lakeland, I found two places where I could get help
building my aircraft.  I was going to do it in Griffin, GA where I could
drive down from Atlanta in less then two hrs.  But their instructor quit
which left me with Flight Crafters in Tampa Fl.

  Russell came highly recommended by Bob in the Lakeland office, so I
talked to him and we scheduled a week's vacation during 4th of July but
that didn't work.  Work problems came up and I decided that the
job I had wasn't going anywhere.  When the company formed, it was going
in one direction, now it was heading someplace else.  So a change in
jobs was the order of the day.

  Since my father died in 79, there was never a question of moving back to
Warner Robins.  Mother was living alone on the farm they had moved to
after I joined the Navy.  It was always a matter of when.  I left the
Navy in 1981 and moved to Atlanta because I felt it was necessary to be
closer to home in case mother needed me.  A two hour drive in an
emergency was not that bad.  But a two hour commute, that's another
story.

I decided that alone with a change in jobs, a change in location was at
hand.  The base was advertising for computer personnel so I decided to
move back to Warner Robins and get a job on base.  So my Europa was put
on hold for six months while I sold the house, got a new job and moved
south.

  I had purchased my stage one kit Christmas of 99, I started it Dec of
2000 at Flight Crafters in Tampa.  I decided to build the entire
aircraft there.  I started work at Robins AFB Jan 2001, so my next week
was labor day week 2001.  Since then I've taken one extra day every
three day weekend (except Nov. Dec. Jan. and July).  I go down on Friday
evening, build airplane Saturday, Sunday, Monday and half a day
Tuesday.  Drive back Tuesday afternoon and back to work on Wed.