Experimenter

SEP2014

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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12 Vol.3 No.9 / September 2014 RISING TO THE CHALLENGE MARK HEIN, EAA 716635, of Clearwater, Florida, breaks the tra- ditional introduction to a person's airplane project. The vast majority of people in sport aviation have rubber-stamp biog- raphies. Only the dates and locations change. The typical sport aviation biography starts with the builder/pilot saying "aaarhpane" as a baby, building models, hanging out at air- ports, starting to fly early, getting a certificate, then having to stop flying while career/marriage/family take priority in their lives. Then they finally get back into aviation in middle age. Mark skipped the early years and cut right to the chase when he was 45 years old—a late bloomer, but an incredibly intense, enthusiastic bloomer. "No one in my family was into aviation," he explained. "One reason I hadn't paid any attention to airplanes is that I have always been heavy into car racing. We're talking seri- ous IMSA (International Motor Sports Association), Grand Am cars. Our team campaigned for Honda and during the '90's were national class champions for fi ve years. I was doing this at the same time I was holding down a job as a fi nancial advisor." Having his own race team meant having a number of team employees, and more important to his future aviation ventures, a very complete workshop on his property. It's obvious from the way he talks about his racing (he's not completely out of it) that he values the team spirit and building the cars as much as win- ning the races. Almost. And in a way, that's what brought him into aviation. "One of our drivers was a pilot and talked me into going to Sun 'n Fun, which was just down the road for us," Mark said. "We were cruising the fl ightline and he was constantly on me about building an airplane. He knew I loved building things, anything, and thought it was time I get into airplanes. I didn't disagree. I was intrigued by what I saw. "Then he said, 'What you need is a Cub.' I, of course, barely knew what a Piper Cub was, but he set it up to go look at a J-3 that was for sale. I liked the looks of the airplane, but the owner didn't like the looks of me. He said, 'If you'll fi t in it, I'll sell it to you, but I don't think you'll fi t.' And he was right! Photography by Jim Koepnick Mark chose to go with small tires because the airplane was slated to go on fl oats from the beginning. The pre-welded kit fuselage, although wildly out of line when Mark received it, is wider than a PA-18 and the left door is standard.

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