One of my favorite opening-line jokes is, “I am one of those idiots building an airplane in my garage.” I guess that means being a homebuilder is part of my identity.
Shortly after taking delivery of my RV-8A tail kit from Van’s, I somehow came to the conclusion that I should have a lofty goal for my building journey. It didn’t take long before I set a firm purpose: I am going to build this aircraft—light and strong—and then I am going to fly it around the world. Just like that, my course was set.
Admittedly, my construction progress has been slow. The press of job, family and other activities has definitely impeded my path. However, I have always kept the world flight goal in mind—researching fuel schematics, navigation challenges and proposed routes. Along the way, I’ve met several incredible earthrounders: Jon Johansen, Bill Randolph, Mike Melvill, Bill Harrelson and Carol Ann Garrett, all of whom circumnavigated the globe in single-engine aircraft.
For some reason, this Sun ’n Fun served to bring the planets back into alignment for my world flight dreams. I had the opportunity to attend forums by Bill Harrelson—who has set several world records in his Lancair IV, including circumnavigating in an experimental aircraft over both poles—and Carol Ann Garrett, who has flown around the world three times in her Mooney, one for a world speed record. Even better, I had great discussions with them about fuel planning, routes, avionics and the challenges of bureaucracy in certain countries. Their gracious advice and wisdom have been appreciated more than I can express.
In all my discussions, I received the best nugget of information from Bill Harrelson, who told me it would be a challenge to obtain world flight insurance at a reasonable rate without any over-water flight experience. He then shared that there was a forum presenter who had spoken about participating in ferry flights to build that experience. We scanned the forum schedule and quickly found that Sandrine Gressard had given the forum—about ferrying a Piper Archer from Canada to India—and that she would be giving it again that same day.
I bolted up the stairs to find her forum and slipped in the back. Sandrine gave an animated and insightful presentation about how she, as a relatively low-time pilot, happened into the world of international aircraft ferrying. Apparently, this company would allow such pilots to serve as second in command, offering no pay or expenses, but providing the opportunity to gain valuable experience and log international flight time. I had but one question: “How do I sign up?”
God only knows if I will actually finish my plane, get her properly configured and then actually fly her around the world. However, the good Lord identified a few valuable waypoints at this particular Sun ’n Fun to give me a healthy helping of guidance and—most of all—hope.
