| After an unscheduled trip to Oshkosh in July 2000, the flying bug bit us again and we started down a path to build our own plane from a kit. This web page will document our progress down this new adventure in our lives. The Oshkosh experience showed us a side of flying that we hadn't seen during our "rental aircraft" days. We saw builders and kit plane makers as regular folks... just like us! The exposure got us dreaming, but was not enough to make us rush out and buy a kit. As with any new venture, the whole thing seemed just too intimidating ... where do we begin... what plane is right for us ... metal or composite ... how do we know if we could actually do this ... would it be safe to fly ... how do we get the whole family involved? |
| DTBR's* Airplane Project *(Dave, Tammy, Becky, Rachel) |
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| Project Photos |
| Many of those questions faded when we discovered one of the kit manufacturers in our own backyard. We had no idea that Zenith Aircraft was located in Mexico, MO, only 90 miles from our home. When Zenith hosted an "Open Hanger" day in August, we met other builders and Zenith personnel who made us feel that this was a project that we could really enjoy. To test our initial impression of Zenith, Tammy and I registered for a "hands-on" workshop at their factory. During two beautiful days in early November 2000, we assembled a rudder for the STOL CH-801 aircraft. To my great surprise, Tammy really got into the entire experience! She's one heck of a riveter! After some prayerful consideration and good "spouse talk", we took the plunge and ordered the next section of the plane. |
| On 17 November 2000, Rachel and I drove to Zenith to pick-up our horizontal tail kit ... and our story begins! Becky and Rachel have already been involved with counting rivets, installing clecos, and even riveting (under Dad's watchful eyes). Tammy has been our procurement agent tracking down materials and keeping the shelves stocked, along with cleaning, priming, and assembling parts. I've been having a ball and getting little sleep since I find myself in the basement till all hours exploring this new hobby of ours! |
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| N143ZT - "Crosswind" |
| N143ZT Builder Log |
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| The Great Gap: 2002-2004 |
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| Jump to: My Airplane.Com Builder Log For Recent Updates on Crosswind |
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| Partners, Suppliers and Product Reviews |
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| Last Updated 31 July 2005 with our most recent discoveries from EAA AirVenture 2005 at Oshkosh |