This Father’s Day, I won’t be hanging at home playing video games or watching baseball on TV. After a family meal, chances are pretty good my dad and I will be spending time on a hobby we both enjoy: flying. To be more specific, we’ll be taking off in an airplane my dad and I built together.
From the time I was in elementary school, I had a passion to become a pilot. I loved going to the airport to watch my dad leave on business trips. Seeing the jets taxi and take off overhead was way cool. The deafening sound of the planes was exhilarating, and their power made my heart beat faster. I knew I was in my element.
My dad understood my desire to fly and encouraged me to follow my dream. When most of my friends turned 15, they got their permits to drive the family cars. Although I took drivers ed too, my head was in the clouds. During my freshman year of high school I started taking flying lessons.
What was cool was my dad’s desire to learn with me. He got his pilot’s license when he was my age but gave up flying after college. When I’d go up with my flight instructor for a lesson, Dad would sit behind me. He wanted to refresh his knowledge and get his rating current again. Between lessons we’d talk at home about what we’d learned.
By the summer of 2004, my dad had renewed his rating and took me flying a lot. We rented a single-engine aircraft from the place where I was taking lessons. Dad let me take the controls as we practiced takeoffs and landings. As we flew from our home near Seattle to Wisconsin for the Oshkosh Air Show, my dad and I talked about getting our own plane so we would have more freedom to fly when and where we wanted. I told him it would be fun to put our personal touches on a small craft that actually belonged to us. He agreed!
A Dream Takes Flight
At the Oshkosh show, we looked at a variety of airplanes with an eye toward buying one. We compared everything from brand new Pipers and Cessnas to older military war birds. The assortment was impressive but expensive. When Dad suggested we look into a home-built kit, my eyes lit up.
Once we got home, we went to work researching kits. That wasn’t as easy as I’d thought. They ranged from cloth and wood to metal and composite materials. We decided that metal would be the easiest material to work with and the quickest to get started.
In January 2005, Dad and I took a test ride in a Van’s RV-8A at Van’s Aircraft Kits near Portland, Ore. Instantly, we knew it was the perfect plane for us. We ordered the kit that same day.
Initially, I was excited to work on this three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. My excitement waned a bit, though, when I discovered how demanding building a plane from scratch would be. Looking at all the unassembled sheets of aluminum, tiny rivets and tools was overwhelming. I couldn’t imagine how all that metal would eventually come together into something that would defy gravity and stay airborne. Between going to school and keeping up with homework, staying motivated was a big challenge.
Fortunately, Dad reminded me that we were in this project together. Weekends were devoted to working in a rented hangar at a local airport.
A Father-Son Relationship Soars
The time with my dad was really special. Since he’s a company vice president, he’s often on the road and busy. As we sorted through a mountain of metal looking for just the right size bolt, we talked about all kinds of issues. Because we had to figure out how to solve problems, our ability to communicate improved. It was awesome to create something together. I came to appreciate my dad as both a friend and a father. He also affirmed how proud he was of me.
During the construction phase, I obtained my license and passed my certification to fly solo. It was a great accomplishment. My childhood dream had come true. Sometimes just to get away from the stress of building our plane, I’d rent a small craft and spend an hour flying alone. It’s amazing how close I feel to God at times like that. When you’re at 12,000 feet looking down at a miniature world below, you have a whole new perspective on life. It’s an amazing sensation to be in open air with no distractions from the world. I feel halfway between heaven and earth. And although I have to keep focused on the instruments in front of me, it is extremely peaceful and stress-free.
Our plane was ready to fly shortly after I graduated from high school. Eighteen months of hard work had paid off. Since the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requires 40 hours of flight-testing for all kit aircraft built by amateurs, we opted to do that in Eugene, Ore. I was a bit nervous, but all systems passed. We finished just in time to take our airplane on its first cross-country flight. Dad and I returned to the Oshkosh Air Show, where our project had been first conceived two years earlier.
As we made the 12-hour flight, I sat at the controls, grateful for a dad who believed in my ability and helped me realize a childhood dream. I also felt grateful to God for a dad who had shown me the importance of teamwork. When we fly together I am aware of how dependent we are on each other. We know our strengths and weaknesses as a father-and-son team. Such knowledge has helped me learn the importance of picking up the slack for each other.
For example, Dad isn't as comfortable with the sophisticated technology and GPS systems as I am, so I take over those systems. On the other hand, I have trouble doing mathematical conversions in my head to determine how much fuel has been used in contrast to the remaining distance, so Dad handles that side of the flights.
Last fall it was time for me to head to college at the University of North Dakota to pursue a career in aviation. Its aviation program is one of the best in the nation. Like most incoming freshmen, I packed my clothes and linens, bought textbooks and supplies and said goodbye to friends. But instead of hopping in a car to drive to campus, I climbed into the plane my dad and I built and took off. 
