I was reading a thread this morning about someone who found unintentional (but fixable) damage to one of his empennage components, and his comment in the end was ?I?m tired of trying to chase the perfect plane?. This folks, is what I call an epiphany moment ? a time when your entire perspective suddenly changes. They can be thought of as either positive or negative ? and truly, it is all about how you THINK of them that makes them important. A big one is when you suddenly realize that you are flying in the airplane you built. It might be one where you realize that you are going to need some help, and take on a partner. Or that time when you stop stalling and realize that yea, you really DO need to take that engine back off the mount in order to change that fuel pump that you got from Joe?s surplus airplane parts, and no, you don?t know it?s pedigree. These are light switch? moments ? and they almost always feel like a weight has been lifted once you experience them.
I think one of my memorable epiphanies on my first build was when I realized that I didn?t need to build the ?ultimate? airplane ? I was building because my existing airplane (an old Yankee) wasn?t going to last forever (or much longer?), and I wanted a solid, dependable airplane that I could fly for a long time. Yes, I still built what I wanted ? but I felt the relief of allowing myself to NOT build every conceivable bit of perfection into the plane. I allowed myself to build a ?good? airplane. It was an immensely relaxing realization!
Honestly, I think every builder I have talked to has had at least one of these moments?.care to share your stories here?
Paul
I think one of my memorable epiphanies on my first build was when I realized that I didn?t need to build the ?ultimate? airplane ? I was building because my existing airplane (an old Yankee) wasn?t going to last forever (or much longer?), and I wanted a solid, dependable airplane that I could fly for a long time. Yes, I still built what I wanted ? but I felt the relief of allowing myself to NOT build every conceivable bit of perfection into the plane. I allowed myself to build a ?good? airplane. It was an immensely relaxing realization!
Honestly, I think every builder I have talked to has had at least one of these moments?.care to share your stories here?
Paul