Experimenter

October 2013

Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.

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T h e 2 013 A ir Ve n t ur e Gr a n d C h a m p i o n H o m e b uil t s came enamored with the Lancair 360. At that time, it was out of his reach financially. He picked up his private pilot certificate soon after that trip to Oshkosh, and with a gift from his parents, he went on to get his IFR rating. Jay went back to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2003 and was still fascinated with the scope of the Lancair program and the performance of the aircraft. He enjoyed a demo flight in a Lancair IV-P but preferred the sporty feel of the 360. So, after he had listened to Jabe's impressions of the Legacy, he made a quick decision. The following Monday, he called the Lancair factory and ordered kit S/N 247. He was on his way. Ordering the kit was part of a natural progression. Growing up in Roslyn, New York, Jay began refining his mechanical aptitude at an early age. Encouraged by his father, he succeeded in dismantling and reassembling items around the house, such as the family vacuum cleaner. He moved onto model airplanes and got into radio-controlled flying. Not long after that he started rebuilding cars and assembling fancy engines to go with them. When it came time for college, Jay started a pre-med curriculum at Vanderbilt University, wanting to follow in his father's footsteps as a physician. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology, but then gave into his fascination with all things mechanical and earned another bachelor's, this time in engineering. Soon after, he picked up an MBA degree. With the high-tech jobs that followed, his financial reach was extended, and when he sold his house in 2003, he knew he could pursue his dream of building a Lancair. By 2011, Jay figured he'd tied up $260,000 in the project, which was roughly $60,000 more than he'd originally anticipated, and that became a significant challenge. When Jay started his Legacy in 2004, he was working as a consultant on a project for IBM. He reasoned that he could leave his home in Connecticut one week a month, fly out to the West Coast, and work for IBM from 4 a.m. until noon Pacific time; 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern. After putting in a full day for IBM, he would then visit the Lancair factory and participate in its builders program until 8:30 p.m., at which time he'd drive to his motel, crash until 3 a.m., and then start another day. That was not an easy schedule to keep, but he did it from March through June of 2004. He made enough progress and established a high enough level of quality with his project that Lancair asked him if he would allow the company to bring his project, at Lancair's expense, to AirVenture and put it on display. Jay Sabot (lef) accepts his airworthiness certifcate from designated airworthiness representative Joe Gauthier. Joe was also the technical counselor for Jay's project. 12 Vol.2 No.10 / October 2013 Photography courtesy of Jay Sabot

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