What Control?

In general aviation (GA), there is only one pilot in command (PIC) in the cockpit at any given time, though there could be a second pilot depending on the requirement. The transfer of control of the plane while flying it is passed on from one pilot to another pilot by saying clearly “You have control” to whom the control is handed over. Then the pilot who takes over says clearly “I have control”. After that only it is considered as ‘transfer of control of the plane’ is completed.

In fact when ‘up in the air’ it is anybody’s guess who has any control on what is in store until it gets back to a safe stop on the ground. My guess is as good as anyone else since fluid dynamics of Bernoulli and not every action of Newton is acting up in the air. It is the confidence and the courage to ‘take on’ whatever is thrown at the PIC, using the knowledge, expertise staying ahead of the plane, anticipating what needs to be done by taking the required steps in advance is the only best thing in control.

In case the daring individuals from our earlier generations were not ready to ‘take on’ these challenges, we will not be where we are today in aviation. I am sure our future generations will do much more by doing whatever it takes to progress well at a much faster rate with ease.

Is the Sky the limit?

When on the ground everyone thinks that way. But when in the air, it is what on the ground where the limit is. Now let us get to the point. How many of the people in this world, who wanted to live life that they ‘dream of’, try to do that giving up something or everything to achieve it. Not many I guess. That is where ‘the Vision’ comes in to play followed by ‘the Mission’. Finally the outcome could be something totally different than what was anticipated in the beginning, based on one’s effort. It could be one’s Destiny too!

Will the Dream come true ?

Now let me talk about my dream, vision, mission and what the end result might look like.

A while back in 2012, when I was volunteering to mentor disturbed children in Calgary, one evening, I went to the airport with my mentee to show him how cool is flying a plane so that he could think differently than what he was doing then. It was my best attempt to give him the dream for a change in his ongoing disturbed thoughts. But I didn’t realize that I will dream to be a pilot after that. Later, I wanted to be a pilot and my mission was to get a pilot’s license and fly all over North America with my family for fun. It was very hard to accomplish my mission because it upset all my family routine, financial goals and increased the risk in life too. But never gave up. By 2016, I had my own share in a modern small plane and I was enjoying my accomplishment. Thanks for the support, inspiration and the guidance I got from my family, mentors and friends.

Then things changed as plane fractional ownership partners ended their agreement. I felt sad that I had no way of owning a good plane that meets my requirement since it is beyond my family financial budget. Only thing my Dad taught me as a child kept me going. ‘Never give up’. Stay calm and wait. Do not miss any opportunity to do what you wanted to do however hard it might be.
Then Covid19 hit the world. The whole life in this world came to a standstill. But my mind was telling me to do something good using the education and experience that I had gained in this life from various sources until that time to keep myself active without losing hope in life.

Also I wanted to avoid hearing whatever is happening those days especially from media brainwashing / brainstorming. To my surprise at that time, there was no flying clubs operating in full swing. The waiting time and restrictions to get a rental plane was very high due to sanitizing requirement, government rules and regulations that needs to be complied.

Build or buy to own ?

I was researching for over 3 months to get to a decision that is sustainable if I go that selected route with an exit plan if any life events happen along the way. Finally came up with a plan to build an Experimental plane that I can afford, build, fly as I wanted and maintain myself. The plan had a window of 8 years. 4 years to build and 4 years to fly. Then sell it and hang my pilots’ hat for good when I turn 70 years young. I shortlisted 3 different single engine planes and got the quotes, looked at the requirements, features and the capabilities of each and took my decision. The monocoque design on the Van’s aircraft RV-14A, which I finally selected as my plane to build is shown below with internal features :

Is there any steps on decision making on this aspect ?

Yes there is ! Say a minimum of seven steps to be precise

First step — Conceptualize the aircraft & its relationship to the needs, wants and resources. (Single-seat? 4-seat? power source & drive elements? land-plane? water-borne?).
So for me, I needed a side by side two seater for a co-pilot or passenger next to me and that available second seat could also be used to hold an extra collapsible 30 USG fuel tank for long distance solo flights, like crossing the Atlantic. I presently have my land plane license with only 400 hours of VFR flying and so I went with that for a light weight land plane for longer range.

Second — Talk to as many appropriately experienced individuals that you can find & take copies of notes.
In my case I had a very senior expert pilot from a local EAA as my mentor from the start and recently I am in touch with an experienced RV experimental aircraft builder. Also in close contact with Van’s aircraft tech support team and attendants most of the Webinars from EAA.

Third — Investigate (in great detail) all of the relevant legal requirements for the design, construction & testing of a home-built aircraft. This includes a well-versed knowledge of the inspection steps & required reporting & any requirements that you personally must meet as a qualified pilot.

I had registered with Transport Canada and arranged for multiple stages of inspection by an inspector who himself is an aircraft builder. A few systems were upgraded to meet Canadian aviation requirements. IFR panel, Gascolator and Diversity Transponder to access satellite and ground based communications link while anywhere in the world are a few examples.

Fourth — Estimate the cost of the project based upon your initial design concept, input from outside experts & thorough investigation of structural component costs. When you have an estimate — triple it & begin to amass the required capital.

My original project budget estimate was US $250k. But it is presently sitting way over twice the budget estimate due to things that are not in my control. For the earthrounders trip the budget is presently estimated as US $200k including training and certification for IFR flying.

Fifth — Using the information gathered to that point, estimate the schedule — triple the estimate
I had planned to complete the plane building in 3 years spending 2000 hours of work. But it looks like I need an additional 600 hours of work to get the plane in the air. Thanks to my family and friends who unconditionally supported me.

Sixth — Be prepared to abandon the project. Come to terms with yourself & your spouse/partner if any — abandonment is more likely than successful completion.
In any unexpected situation, I am mentally prepared to sell the plane, specially if my medical goes south. So I had upgraded a few excellent features on the plane at extra cost, which any aviation enthusiast would love to have in their plane. This increases the value of the plane and the chances of selling it quick is more likely. Smart glide, Smoke system, Thunderbolt engine and MT 3 blade propeller are a few examples.

Seventh — Start and have fun.
In my view flying is a Devine act. It needs the support of ancestors, blessings of Almighty, alignment of the stars, and best wishes of my family and friends. So I started off with a traditional Pooja and prayer by a priest and got the work to progress with good, bad, better, ugly and best days with the help of many friends and my family. As of now only 75% is completed. The remaining balance is more intricate work though small in size and volume.

There you go !

On the 15th of April 2021, I remember it was Vishu in Kerala, the order was placed for the Van’s RV-14A kits, Garmin Avionics of my choice and Lycoming Thunderbolt Engine IO-390 EXP, all from US. Interior custom built upholstery and 74” Three blade MT propeller from Germany. Lights from Australia and so on and so forth.
All my engineering knowledge, skills, experience and endurance that I gained over years of hard work in life is being put to use. Still continuing to do so as of today though the difference is the moving target due to various reasons …

What is today’s status ?

Completed building approximately 75% of a Van’s RV-14A Single Engine plane with the latest technologies in Avionics and safety features, whatever is available, that can take me across the Atlantic Ocean to go around the Globe.

The plan is to join Earthrounders group (www.earthrounders.com) and complete the East word Earthrounders trip in a year time, probably during 2025 – 2026, spending time on my way with friends, families, volunteers, unknown folks, media, charities, donors, clearing agents, great people who had accomplished similar feet, various flying clubs, FBOs, touch down on most difficult and risky airports in the world with a clear message for a “ Total World Peace”. In my mind, the message the tail symbol on the plane conveys, flying willing friends at their own risk as copassengers as much as possible on many of the 70 legs that I will cover during the trip, sharing real time photography and chat with clearing agents and people interested in following live online, also sharing my journey experiences to children and various professionals on my way in different countries will all together must inspire the younger generation to look at similar challenges in their life time and do well in life with peace and tranquility.

Pictures of the plane build tell a thousand words and so here it is…

Is there a link to the build process info. ?
Yes! There is! www.eaabuilderslog.org

Go to it and Advance search my name, you could read all that is done from the start…
Other useful links : www.eaa.org