Tim Buttles, EAA 183981, of Ogdensburg, WI, wanted to fly and save money, so he built a two-place airplane for less than $6,500. We took a good look at it at #OSH08, and the story still inspires us today.
This is an easy thing to say as a retiree with a pension. As a dude with 3 kids, a full time job and a marriage, the difference between "building a plane" and "watch tv" is that "building a plane" takes a massive investment in space and time: you're basically looking at needing to be in the same house, with a garage, for 5+ years.
@@JS-rp7qb I'd be interested to know what the monthly cost of renting a storage space for the average length of time for the typical airplane (5-6 years I think). If it's $100 a month, you're looking at between $6000 and $7200 JUST to store the damn thing. Watching TV may not pay but it doesn't cost me anything either (although I don't have a cable subscription).
@Positive Anion Brother, those are words to live by, but if ever possible "do both" ! Are you, or have you ever been associated with any U.S.N. Seabees ? We don't just "do more with less", "we do better" !
Its always seemed odd to me that something so low tech, with only a few hundred pounds of common materials with such simple construction should be so damned expensive.
And i thought i am too old to work hard, save money, study a lot and start flying an ultralight at age of 42! People like you keep inspiring me. I hope you get there sir.
I built my Sonex from plans for under $16,000. That was spread out over a period of five years. I now have about 350 hours on the clock. Its a great little airplane and building it was a wonderful experience.
I knew an old cheap guy like that in my neighborhood. Found out after he died I saw his daughter and found she and her two brothers inherited $20MIL from that cheap old dude.
I also know one. In the mid 90's an old Filipino American citizen died. He was unmarried with no kids and have worked since he was mid 20's for about 30 years. None of his nephews and nieces wanted to have anything to do with him since he work low paying jobs in electronics, got laid off couple of times and worked odd jobs in between. He dressed up so cheap and eat only sandwiches. He sleeps mostly in the garage of friends or relatives. He had no car. At that time he got sick he was living with a distant relative. Before he died some social worker went over his situation with the idea of sending him to a care home since the relative was refusing to take care of him. It turned out he had a total invested stocks and assets and retirement funds of over 300 K which is big money back then. All of a sudden his nephews and nieces became interested and were contesting as to who will take care of him.
@@ramilio2 Sounds like a twist on the old story of the uncle's treasure. He spent his golden years living with one relative after another, always dragging his locked and chained treasure chest with him. After he died the nieces and nephews busted it open and found it was full of old newspapers.
No its not. Many major corporations borrow money because its cheaper than using their own - especially for share buy backs - their cash is working at say 5% while they can borrow at 2% - many people will do the same. Update your assumptions.
He's not talking interest rates, he's talking about going into debt to buy an aircraft vs building one on the cheap. That said, interest rates for individuals to buy an airplane run 7-10% depending on the term.
No, debt is owing someone else money. He is saying he does not want to have debt because he could not afford to pay someone back for what he doesn't' have now. Poverty does not necessarily lead to debt, particularly if one is wise.
What a great exemple of financial wisdom ! You built a very nice airplane at a price of a used small car. You inspired me sir, to do the same and to teach it to the kids/new pilots. The way you found your paint is a good representation of your "think outside the box" philosophy. Thanks so much for your teaching. I will share your video on my blog for sure. Best Regards Jeff Boivin
Sweet I love it, it has a certain charm, that any other piper full dollar flyer, it's unique, one of a kind. I am sitting here putting together parts and pieces from crashed airplanes, making a frankenplane,I gots to be flying, I start quake n without my air time. Thanks for sharing later my brother.
This is pretty much the way I have done things all my life and it usually works out O.K. A fine video and a very nicely turned out plane. Sure would like to see it fly.
"There is a common figure circulating on the internet that the actual first plane, the 1903 Flyer, cost less than $1000 (less than $28K in current dollars) in terms of parts and materials." I'd say you did pretty darn good.
Great Video! Great Story and wonderful plane build in a great way. Wish the video was longer and showed more details. There are too many people out there who think Aviation is just for Millionaires ... Done right it has ways to be a very reasonably priced hobby. Best Regards from Alaska!
Nice work and commentary - Id be curious to have heard more on how the FAA inspections went as Im sure theres some stories there w/ all the improvisations made.
Now I am a mechanical engineer. I'm confident I could design a plane that's perfectly safe. I am not, however, confidently say that my handiwork would produce the expected safety. Knowing myself I'd forget to attach the chain to the rudder.
Truth is professional Aviation mechanics aren't confident they can do it either. That's why they have 100 layers of inspection to make sure it's done right. Just double check everything you do a ton and you'd be better off that most people. Flying the plane is where I would see more issues.
When I get old and (hopefully) have a good retirement, this is the kind of stuff I want to do. I would have all the time I need to just build almost anything.
That was great, it put a huge smile on my face, I love creativity n practicality, finding the solution to the need at the lowest cost. I did wonder about regulations and documentation though. A really fun little vid but now I want to know more, time to do some internet searching ;).
Great video. Only issue I have is the hangar. How much do you suppose he is paying for that? I know in the Reno/Sparks area you’re looking a $350/month minimum to share a hangar, more like $400/month. So you’d be paying $4800 a year to house a $6500 airplane. And yes, it needs to be hangared, it’s fabric. In a way this shows that an all metal Luscombe, Cessna, Piper, would pay for itself in just 4 or 5 years because you can tie it down outside for maybe $480/year. Or maybe even better yet, a folding wing like Kitfox or Avid. Just thinking out loud here...
The man illustrates an important concept. There is often more than one good way to get something done. And youtube has opened people's eyes to that concept by sharing information and methods, techniques from all over the world. Knowledge is a powerful thing. Now, how can I avoid the recurring gout in my right toe? I'll bet someone has a better solution than the doctors.
Agreed. And this is a wonderful example of telling the rest of the self-inflated aviation "industry" to go and jump in the lake with its ludicrous charges for servicing, insurance, regulations, certification and everything else controlled by rapacious middle men.
Gout. Try cherries, mangos and plenty of water. It's not wine etc which causes the ache, it can be the water pills you may have been taking. It's worth a try, tastes nice anyway!!!!! The fruit, not the pills!!!!
I agree knowledge is a powerful thing, and there is often more than one good way to get something done, still for a price. The price is likely some form of change, like in material, schedule, cost, or use. Gout is caused by a problem in one of the body's scavenging and recycling systems for protein and DNA. Eating too much of either one (steak, mushrooms...), or breaking down too much of your own (alcohol, damage...) can overwhelm the malfunctioning pathway. This bottleneck causes uric acid to build up. This alone is harmless, as you will pee it out. When high uric acid in blood encounters low pH areas of the body, cooler areas with poor blood flow, it can form crystals. The crystals are sharp and cause damage. The goal is to dissolve them by temporarily raising the pH and increasing blood flow. How? Mix some baking soda, a mild base, into water and drink it, once or twice a day. This will help control an acute attack within a day or so. To prevent an attack, cherries help pee out urate, and avoid trigger foods and body damage, and exercise to improve blood flow. The PRICE: baking soda is like salt in sodium content, so this solution will stress your blood pressure, blood vessels, and your kidneys. The baking soda will cost a few cents. I hear you about doctors, but not all of us are idiots or under corporate control just yet ;)
Suffered from gout for years, my wife sent me to a specialist. I have been gout free for 8 years now due to taking Uloric daily. It must be taken with Cochine for 3 to 6 months to start ( as taking it could cause a very bad gout attack.) After that just a Uloric a day and eat or drink whatever you like. That is my experience.
2015 and folks are still talking bad about this. It's not about if the aircraft is safe it's about the doing. You can be safe and be smart (cheap) at the same time. I think this gentleman is smart and I very much doubt he would fly a pice of junk. Good job sir.
perfect plane for recreational flying, no static port and pitot tube, no six packs. No electrical system for radio and flaps, all he need is a rotating prop and wings to make it airborne. I wonder how he connected the yoke with the string and actuators.
