Greetings!
Hi, I’m Mike, and I’m thrilled that you stopped by my corner of blogland to read more about me.
I’m a blogger and aviation enthusiast. I’m passionate about all things aviation and through my various blogs I strive to share my passion, not only for aviation but also for helping others realize their potential for accomplishment and freedom the very short time we have here on this earth. One of my core values that I am deeply aligned with is, the right path is the one you make yourself that leads to your version of happiness. That is the fundamental reason for The Airplane Builder blog.
Why The Airplane Builder blog?
These web pages are focused on my passion for aviation and my desire to share it with as many people as I can. So again, thank you for stopping by. My sites are also intended to document and share my journey in building a couple really awesome kitplanes; the Stewart S-51 Mustang and an F1 Rocket. It might be a bit confusing at first but in my attempt to keep things organized, I have a separate web page dedicated to each aircraft build project as well as a more general The Airplane Builder website where I’ll share all kinds of exciting stuff separate from the aircraft specific info in the Stewart 51 and F1 Rocket Hangar blogs and try to tie all of these pages together.
Additionally, I’m a true believer that if you can imagine something, it’s just a matter of bringing it into reality. I believe that we are all on some sort of a journey and the Airplane Builder blog is all about achieving Freedom; Pushing our boundaries and reaching beyond ourselves.
About My Co-Adventurer
My wife’s name is Jo-Anne, and she is many things, but one in particular is Teacher Extraordinaire, specializing in: Small Persons, Standing Out, Moving Mountains, Thinking and Wondering, Complicated Questions with Simple Answers and Life’s General Balancing Act. She is also passionate about opportunities for women in non-traditional roles, a prime example of this the Women in Aviation movement, which we are both strong supporters of.
My love affair with airplanes
My childhood always centered on airplanes. Before I was born, my dad built a Guillows Corsair balsa plane and that plane hung in the corner of my room since the day I was brought home from the hospital and all throughout growing up. It is now still proudly hanging in my shop. Additionally, going back and reading my baby book, my mom commented that my first toy was… yep, you guessed it – an airplane! Things haven’t changed much over the years.
I progressed from baby toy planes, to children’s toys to eventually going to college and building a career as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (which for the Americans reading this, the Canadian AME is equivalent to your A&P/ IA). Over the years my parents have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I’d have to argue that the best things in life involve airplanes and aviation.
As you can see, airplanes and aviation are part of my D.N.A. It’s no wonder that I caught the aviation bug at an early age. Today I’m still working in the aviation and keep busy with my Stewart 51 and F1 Rocket projects.
Why I blog
Since moving out to Edmonton just over 2 years ago and transitioning to a new job, I also decided to start this blog. The Airplane Builder blog has been on my mind for a while. The aircraft build logs are partly to share my airplane project with friends and family, but also to meet the regulatory requirements of keeping a journal of my build progress. What a journey it has been already. It’s pretty amazing how blogging opens up your creativity like an unexpected gift to rejuvenate and inspire you to keep pushing ahead. Blogging has also introduced me to a whole community of aviation enthusiasts who encourage and inspire me on a daily basis. So, again, I’d like to thank you fellow reader, for coming along for the ride. You make my work worthwhile.
Where to go from here
The best ways to connect with me are through the comments on my blog posts; I do my best to respond to each and every one. You can reach me by email at mike@theairplanebuilder.com. (Update Oct 2022 – I’m experiencing issues with the above mentioned email address. If you send me an email there and it’s returned, please try and resend your email to mike@damnlottafun.com)
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