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ABOUT THE BUILDER

Not too long after earning my Private Pilot Certificate, I was introduced to Experimental Aircraft by my primary CFI and pilot friend, Mike Schmidt. With a strong interest in owning an aircraft, but not interested in a 40+ year old specimen, or the price tag of a brand new high-performer, I explored the option of building my own plane.
After a year or two of exploring the hundreds of kit and plans-built options, along with a couple trips to Airventure in Oshkosh, I settled on the Glastar. The original design was developed and marketed by Stoddard-Hamilton but eventually purchased by Glasair Aviation. It is a high wing tractor aircraft with aluminum flight surfaces and a composite fiberglass fuselage wrapped around a steel cabin safety cage. Designed to be built as (and even converted between) a tricycle gear and tailwheel configuration, it can even be put on floats and skis. It is a great combination of speed and utility and will serve us well in our travel mission. Good for both the casual local flight and the real cross country excursion.
The challenge with acquiring a Glastar came due to the fact that the kit was no longer in production. After the acquisition by Glasair, the kit evolved into the Sportsman 2+2, a somewhat “beefier” version modified to be constructed quickly in the Glasair “Two Weeks to Taxi” program. A bit out of reach economically, I began a search for stalled or abandoned Glastar builds being put up for sale.
After a few months of searching, I located an in-progress kit in Thompson Falls, Montana, about 3 hours from Stacy’s parents in Spokane. The builder was a career machinist but not a pilot. He may have run out of money, interest, time, or some combination of all of these. But the end result was me loading her up to haul her back to Denver to start my aircraft construction journey.

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