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Third-generation pilot builds own plane
Five years and 18,000 rivets later, it's time to fly
By Jeff Ackerman -
Editor/Publisher
"Article and photo(s) courtesy of "The Union" |
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| Lee Brant of Grass Valley sits in his new Van RC 7A
airplane,
which he built over the course of five years. Photo for The Union by John Hart |
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“I'm not sure I'd do it again,” Lee Brant says of building his own airplane, seen here at |
| the Nevada County Airport. Photo for The Union by John Hart |
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Nearly five years and some 18,000 rivets later, Grass Valley resident Lee Brant is finally ready to see if his hand-built airplane can actually fly.
Sitting inside a squeaky-clean hangar Brant shares at the Nevada County Airport, his new Van RV 7A is a thing of beauty. And Brant knows every inch of it, inside and out.
“I'm not sure I'd do it again.” the 44-year-old journeyman pressman said. “I'd rank this right up there with raising a kid.”
Now a third-generation pilot (Brant got his license in 2005), Brant said he'd have been flying a long time ago if he'd had the money. “I used to fly with my father and grandfather, and they used to scare the hell out of me just for fun.”
His love for the sky was renewed a few years ago when Brant started hanging around and working with longtime local pilots. “I started waxing this one guy's plane, and he was big into experimental aircraft,” said Brant. “He learned that I had painting and finishing skills, |
and in return for my help, he agreed to get me started getting my pilot's license (something that could cost as much as $10,000 or more).”
That man was former Marine Keith Peterson, who built a Harmon Rocket seven years ago. “He (Peterson) has been a huge mentor and driving force in encouraging me to get my license and then encouraging me to finish my plane,” said Brant.
Once Peterson's Harmon Rocket was finished, Brant's work on it caught the attention of other local pilots who needed some work done of their own. “I ended up painting four airplanes, and I did probably four car restorations,” he said. “I used that money to buy my airplane kit.”
It took five years to build Brant's experimental plane, because it was what he called a “slow build” that required the assembly and actual fabrication of hundreds of individual parts. “I even built the engine,” he said. “It has a Lycoming IO 360 engine that cruises at around 200 miles per hour.”
Why an experimental plane? “It's a proven plane,” Brant explained. “There are thousands of them out there, maybe even 15 right here at our airport. It's got great cruise speeds, mild aerobatics and is just a well-mannered aircraft and fun to fly.”
Brant said he has already logged 20 hours or so in similar planes and is looking forward to finally taking his own for a spin.
“Everything is done,” he said. “I fired up the engine and there are no leaks. The instruments all work and all I need is to get the FAA to sign off on my air worthiness certificate.”
He said the best part of the last five years it's taken him to finish the enormous project has been the people. “There are a lot of people up here with a lot of experience and history,” he said. “They are the kind of people you want to surround yourself with.”
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