I have been a licensed pilot since 1965. I have always wanted to "restore" an old plane. I thought building one was out of the question. I hung around off and on at different duty stations with people that were accomplishing their dream. Finally, we have gotten started although I had to complete construction of my equipment shed which is going to be the hangar. And I converted my hobby shop in the barn to the construction room for the empennage. You can view more about this under the "Workshop" page.
Please sign the guest book. And feel free to email me with any questions on my learning curve. You can see what I currently do by going to www.dxcharter.com.
I had never worked with sheet metal before. I was apprehensive. I purchased every video that I could find on the Van Web Site and www.homebuildhelp.com. The latter had a very good step by step process on building the rudder. Of course even that left some questions on "How do I do it right the first time?"

These videos, I do recommend although they do not include the pre-punched construction of the empennage. The wood jig and jig braces shown in the rudder video are not necessary.

I was able to get some instruction from my son-in-law who is an A & P for a major airline and my brother who is an A & P in the corporate aviation world, mainly jets. My lovely wife is always there to provide all type of assistance. I was able to see Bob Hoover in Houston in 2007 who really inspired me to keep after any goals that you have no matter what your age.

With winter just around the corner, we decided to insulate the workshop with spray on insulation. A Heat Pump combination air conditioner was also added.