Local aviators have the right stuff

WA’s isolation and sheer size is a hurdle that WA business people have had to deal with since federation. Today, a growing band of entrepreneurs is overcoming the tyranny of distance by building or buying their own aircraft. Gary Kleyn reports.

THERE’S a hive of activity going on past the airstrip at Jandakot airport and behind the ‘restricted areas’ signage. Not only is the strip east of Perth recognised as Australia’s busiest airport, it also has become a significant manufacturing facility.

The airport is home to numerous businesses all with the common purpose of producing and servicing the needs of light aircraft.

Behind hanger doors and sheds are both hobbyists and professionals, who can be found welding, grinding or painting their small aircraft.

Among them is Perth-based business consultant Laurie Fitzgerald, who swaps his business suit for a pair of overalls as he builds his own plane from the ground up.

For the past three years he has been working on a four-seater aircraft based on the Lancair IV-P and which meets commercial standards. Mr Fitzgerald describes it as the “Lamborghini of the air”.

When completed in a few weeks, the interior finish will be the equal of any luxury car, Mr Fitzgerald says, complete with leather trimmings. It will be worth around $US650,000.

Under rules governed by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, individuals are able to work and build their own planes (as opposed to a ready designed kit). In order to receive an experimental certificate the owner must complete at least 51 per cent of the construction personally.

The result for Mr Fitzgerald has been thousands of hours working in the hanger. For the past 18 months he has been spending around six days a week working on the project, while still trying to maintain a client base for his consultancy practice.

Mr Fitzgerald learned to fly in 1991 at the Bunbury Aero Club, primarily as a personal challenge but also to provide a contrast to the office-bound work environment.

In 1994 Mr Fitzgerald purchased an amateur built Glasair Aircraft, which he recently sold.

When completed, the Lancair will be even faster than the Glasair, being able to cruise at 600 kilometres an hour at 25,000 feet.

He warns would-be amateurs interested in building their own plane to make sure that they have the time and energy to complete the task.

“It is a real commitment. All the benefits come by working a bit harder,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“It is no different than any other business venture. The rewards come with hard work

Equally rewarding is the time spent in the air, he said, with the time spent flying instead of driving making the plane pay for itself.

He currently flies up to 200 hours a year, including frequent flights to other States for business.

“Learning to fly is not that expensive,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“I enjoy flying. It saves considerable time and it’s cheaper than paying a commercial fare.”

A CASA spokesman said the number of people designing and manufacturing their own experimental planes was small, with most who make their own plane choosing instead to manufacture a ready designed kit plane that had already received CASA accreditation.

The spokesman told WA Business News the experimental category licence was flexible and permitted the pilot to operate under certain conditions depending on the plane design.

CASA has released experimental licences in its current form since 2000 when it released an advisory circular (AC 21.4 2).

“The amateur-built program was designed to permit person(s) to build an aircraft solely for eduction or recreational purposes. CASA permits amateur builders the freedom to select their own designs,” the advisory circular says.

“However, aircraft which are assembled entirely from kits composed of completely finished pre-fabricated components, parts and pre-cut and pre-drilled materials are not considered to be eligible for certification as amateur-built aircraft since the major portion of the aircraft would not have been fabricated and assembled by the builder.”