There is an old joke in aviation that the number of airplanes you should own is “N+1, with N being the number of airplanes you own now” … but the truth is, yes, you can have too many airplanes! It is not usually a question of financial means (paying for the aircraft, insurance, maintenance, etc.). That usually works itself out for some unknown reasons. The real problem comes when you run out of space to keep them, or time to maintain them … or simply time to fly them! I am afraid that I am of an age in aviation that I have many friends who have enough flying machines to fill their hangars to overflowing … and I find myself to be in that same boat.
How do you get there? It is not a conscious decision, believe me! I like to build airplanes, and I like to fly airplanes. I owned a Grumman Yankee for over 20 years … bought the local airport “rent-a-wreck” shortly after I got out of college and started working at NASA. I flew the heck out of that aircraft, put in a bigger engine, upgraded the panel, did the interior, added fuel tanks, stripped and painted it … basically I did every STC that I could find. Never thought I would sell it … but I built an RV-8 to increase my speed and range. The day I did the first flight of the RV-8, I went home and put out an advertisement to sell my pride-and-joy Yankee, the aircraft I thought I would never sell. It was gone in a week, and I never regretted it.
The RV-8 was supposed to be my “forever airplane,” and I finished it that way. I loved it, and other people recognized it as my signature aircraft. I met my future wife at a fly-in when I showed up in it, and she arrived in her RV-6. Shortly after we were married and moved to an airpark home, we began building an RV-3, because all newly married couples want to start a family. The RV-3 is a joy to fly … cannot think of ever selling it. It is such a perfect flying machine that of all our craft, I think it would be the last to go.
We moved to a new airpark home after I left my first career and decided that we needed a project, since I was running an aviation magazine at the time, and it would serve as material for articles. We started a Xenos motorglider, and worked on it as we had time. Then the opportunity came along to buy into a bush plane project, and we sort of wanted that capability … so the Xenos got pushed into a virtual corner while our Dream Tundra was finished and took flight.
We now had an RV-3, RV-6, RV-8, the Tundra, and the Xenos project. It was a good thing the Xenos was still a project because we were sort of out of room in the hangar … but we took time out from building airplanes to expand the hangar with a workshop that would also fit a completed aircraft.
Then a funny thing happened … I got the chance to be the first non-factory person to fly the little SubSonex jet. It was a blast, and I received my type rating … and shortly thereafter, my wife said, “You really should buy the jet … I know you want one.” So I did … finishing the kit in about four or five months. I flew it all the way to AirVenture from Nevada in 2019 … nine legs, eight fuel stops each way … it was a great adventure that went very well! Since then, the jet was a “fly it a couple times a month” aircraft … and suddenly I have 220 hours on it.
Another funny thing happened with our Xenos … I got the opportunity to try the first electric Xenos, and thought to myself, “This is a pretty cool engineering exercise … I would like to try duplicating it!” So the AeroVee engine kit we had for the Xenos went to a new home, we bought a donor motorcycle and fitted the Xenos with a new front end … the “eXenos” was born! That was a truly educational project, and the aircraft had to live at a neighbor’s hangar (it still does). The shop got cleaned up, and I twiddled my thumbs, annoying my wife to the point of, “Paul … you really need a new project!”
Along came a deal I could not pass up on an unstarted F1 Rocket Quick Build kit … and a unicorn of an IO-540 at a price that I also could not pass up. That was two and a half years in the past … and the Rocket first flew five weeks ago. It is now out of Phase I, and ready to go to AirVenture! But hmm … let me add this up … uhhhh … Rocket makes seven!?
Yes, you can have too many aircraft, and since the Rocket serves the purpose of a two-seat tandem cross-country machine, the RV-8 went up for sale … and was spoken for in less than 24 hours. Much like my Yankee, I never thought I would sell it … but realize that it needs to be flown by someone, and it was not going to be me anymore, not with the Rocket in my pocket. And along the way, my wife started building an RV-15 in our shop … and we inherited another special RV-3 project from a friend that is waiting to be promoted to “Paul’s project” when we get through the heat of summer.
And so … we move on. What was our “forever airplane” becomes someone else’s pride and joy … and we get the satisfaction of having built and flown the machine for a long time, getting years of enjoyment and service out of it. It’s not right to keep an aircraft sitting in the back of a hangar, not flying … not when there is someone else out there who can give it attention. We owe it to the machines to let them fly, and to aviation in general to give pilots opportunities to own and operate the wonderful magic carpets.
So to make room for the new ones coming along, I decided that it is time for the SubSonex jet to find a new home. One owner, never damaged, a fresh engine (1.5 hours since “first overhaul” by the factory) … a creampuff! The aircraft has built-in oxygen, retractable gear, a BRS (which is about ready for repacking to be honest), and can be had for much less than the price of building one today, due to the fact that engine and accessory prices have gone up dramatically since I built mine. It has 220 hours on the airframe, all of it enjoyable … but I simply do not have time to do it justice anymore, so let us find it a new home. Seriously, if you are interested, drop me a note at paul@avbrief.com … let’s s talk! I need the hangar space, it needs someone who will fly it, and I have had my fun … it is time for it to put a smile on someone else’s face!
Amazing. The speed at which you and your wife can crank out new projects is unreal. About how long does it take for y’all to build one, any of them?
Well there’s no single answer to that because very type is different, we sometimes have three projects in parallel, and airplanes have different starting points. My RV-8 took me 18 months – but I was working on it six-eight hours a day. The -3 took us two and a half years, as did the Rocket. The jet took four months (it was pretty simple and VERY quick build), and the Tundra was a year for us – but nine years for our partner before we joined him. the Xenos? Ten years, on and off…. The trick with any build is to work on frequently enough that it doesn’t get pushed in a corner to gather dust. And building at home is a huge benefit!
Thanks! Still amazing! Such commitment and skills!
Paul, I think you might need an intervention! 😉
Most homebuilders manage to finish one plane (if they ever actually finish it).
Seriously though, how did you manage to find a wife that not only supports your addiction, but actually contributes to it? A lucky man indeed.
The brief mention of insurance brings up an interesting point. I suppose a weather event or hangar fire could trigger a multiple-aircraft, but the insurers should recognize you can only fly one at a time!