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On a mission to introduce the joys of kit aircraft building to a new region

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  • #1

    On a mission to introduce the joys of kit aircraft building to a new region

    Hi Folks,

    I'm looking for ideas as to how I should best go about generating interest in the building and flying of kit built STOL aircraft, in a region where they virtually do not currently exist.

    Over the last 30-plus years, I've worked in design and experimental flight test for several major OEMs and tier 1 suppliers. I began flying single engine piston aircraft in late 2008.

    I've never purchased or built a kit aircraft myself but I've worked in Liaison Engineering to support manufacture and modification of commercial and business aircraft.

    I believe there are many among the region's 2.5 million population who would be keen to fly "low and slow" around and between the various islands; such as retired airline pilots, business owners, high net worth individuals, active airline pilots and young commercial pilots building hours (interested in fractional ownership), as well as other aviation enthusiast (possibly just interested in being part of a "Build Assist" as a hobby).

    It would be great to learn how other communities of kit aircraft builders were formed and nurtured on the way to becoming well established General Aviation successes.

    Looking forward to hearing from many of you.

    Thanks for your time out to read this and for your suggestions.

    Best regards,
    dave
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Where are you located Dave? Mark
    • Likes 1

    Comment

    • AviationLed
      #2.1
      AviationLed commented
      12-03-2019, 03:32 PM
      Editing a comment
      Hi Mark,

      Thanks for getting in touch.
      My home base is Montreal (Ville Saint Laurent actually), Quebec, Canada. I'm currently out in Trinidad & Tobago though.

      Cheers,
      dave
  • #3
    Hi Mark,

    Sorry, I originally replied via the 'comment' area under your post.
    My home base is not too far from CYUL but I'm currently out in the Caribbean on the twin island nation containing TTPP & TTCP.

    Best regards,
    Cheers.
    dave

    Comment

    • #4
      Builders are a small group within the flying community. One way to build community is to build a kit and allow others to take an active role in building or just visit your project. Your enthusiasm for building and ultimately flying your project has to rub off on those around you. In my case others who were older and as addicted to airplanes as I am came along side of me and mentored me for hours to make sure what I was doing was safe. The small community needs to understand that building a plane is not an impossible task. It can be a fun learning experience. The final reward is that you get to fly it and share the joy even more.
      it’s not impossible but it will require considerable time and effort.
      • Likes 2

      Comment

      • #5
        Originally posted by tailwind View Post
        Builders are a small group within the flying community. One way to build community is to build a kit and allow others to take an active role in building or just visit your project. Your enthusiasm for building and ultimately flying your project has to rub off on those around you. In my case others who were older and as addicted to airplanes as I am came along side of me and mentored me for hours to make sure what I was doing was safe. The small community needs to understand that building a plane is not an impossible task. It can be a fun learning experience. The final reward is that you get to fly it and share the joy even more.
        it’s not impossible but it will require considerable time and effort.


        Thank you for your very insightful advice.

        I'm definitely finding it an uphill task to generate enthusiasm for volunteering, probably because there is no real history of kit aircraft building in this region; just one STOL kit aircraft built back in 2012 from what I gather and the team then was guided by a "Builder Assist" facility based in Florida.

        I've anticipated a lot of skepticism and having to first uncover the pent up demand for this type of activity, so it's definitely expected to be a "100 ft / min" type of 'climb' in participation initially before we can approach the sort of goal for the participation at the lofty desired rate at a "1,000 ft / min" equivalent 'climb' in participation and adoption.

        My objective is currently to spend 180 days - I'm currently in the middle of week three - promoting the idea of kit built STOL aircraft adoption and of "Builder Assist" locally.

        To achieve that I am engaging the local Civil Aviation Authority to determine what they require of the GA community, in order to allow the use of STOL aircraft in local air space; there is no current regulation specific to LSA, in fact the LSA category does not exist within the region, so kit built aircraft will be treated as any other aircraft. Not a problem as long as everyone understands the local rules, follows them and adheres to them. Even requesting waivers where appropriate and backing up such requests with appropriate and adequate data and paperwork.

        I agree wholeheartedly with everything you have kindly said about how rewarding the experience will be.

        It's not going to be easy to find seasoned volunteers when it comes to kit aircraft building, to act as mentors however, there are professional aircraft engineers, technicians and mechanics who have retired from the airlines or who are still active and may have spare time they wish to devote to the cause.

        Your suggestion is thus tremendously helpful, as it now sets a goal for me to seek out and make direct contact with the sort of individuals mentioned above as a top priority.

        Thank you again for taking time out of your day to reply and offer your insights.

        Best regards,

        dave

        Comment

        • robcaldwell
          #5.1
          robcaldwell commented
          12-04-2019, 10:23 AM
          Editing a comment
          Are there any EAA chapters in your area?
      • #6
        Thanks for inquiring Rob.

        Unfortunately I do not believe there is such an organization or equivalent in the region.

        They do however appear to have decent active RC and sUAS organizations.

        From the manned aircraft perspective, there was an attempt to establish an AOPA chapter sometime in the past - according to what I managed to find online - but the info is questionable and no active local AOPA chapter currently exist within the region (from what I can determine).

        There is however an active local chapter of ALPA.

        Cheers,
        dave

        Comment

        • #7
          I've been asked why would anyone want to fly ' low & slow ' in the Southern Caribbean ?

          Here are some Points of Interest that might be worth exploring from above.
          1. Flying over the coastal forest
          2. Sand Cliffs & beaches in the Southland
          3. The unseen reef
          4. Wet lands & coconut trees
          5. Mini surprise Volcano in the making
          6. A closer look at sand Cliffs
          7. Beach combing
          8. Places to land for a beach BBQ
          9. Get away island life
          10. North Coast rain forest & beaches

          Please note :
          I do not possess the rights to any of the videos linked to above.
          The links are provided for educational purposes only per "fair use policy".
          My sincerest gratitude to the persons who shared their content freely (or with reserved rights) online.
          Last edited by AviationLed; 12-06-2019, 11:02 AM.

          Comment

          • #8
            tis the seasonto be.png

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