Welcome to my aviation website. The goal of this site is to chronicle the building of my Steen Skybolt, as well as other things I do in my life. I had originally chosen the Zodiac XL for my project. However, having seen the Skybolt on my visit to Oshkosh (a journey specifically made to touch, see, and finalize my decision to build the Zodiac!), I fell in love with it. There aren't many homebuilt aircraft that look as sexy as the Skybolt - especially with the bubble canopy.

For those not familiar with the skybolt, it is an aerobatic biplane. While being very similar to the Pitts plane in looks and capabilities, it is much larger, giving it forgiving ground handling characteristics.

Why is a low time student pilot wanting to build such a plane you may ask...

My logic is that this thing is going to take me something like 4 years to build (fingers crossed it doesn't end up in the 'For Sale' columns under '70% completed projects'), and of course bye then, I'd have long passed the checkride, and should have many hours plus under my belt. I only intend to ever build one plane, so why not build something from the ground up and I can say 'I built it'. Why aerobatic? Well, I have a fair amount of skydives, so I love the adrenalin rush, this plane has the versatility for the occasional basic aerobatic maneuver to satisfy my urges if flying straight & level gets too boring.

I am now an IT Manager and web developer, but for 20 years i was a cabinet maker, therefore, the wings 'should' be no problem for me, being wood construction. However, the fuselage is made of steel tube - and i have never welded before, so that's gonna be a challenge. I read somewhere that a project like this is very comparable to an BA Degree - it costs about the same, takes the same amount of time (if not more), requires at least as much effort, and is easily as educational.

There really aren't many skybolt builders logs out there on the web unfortunately. This log I hope to keep current - for all the skybolt / rag and tube builders and potential builders out there. And for a final tip to those first time homebuilders...invest in the 3 books written by Tony Bingelis! 'The Sportplane Builder', 'Sportplane Construction Techniques', and 'Firewall Forward'. I think they are out of print, but are easily obtainable from Amazon.com - you'll be glad you did.

Beej

DISCLAIMER:In the true tradition of the U.S.A., I suppose I need a disclaimer...This construction log only shows how I did things during the construction of my Skybolt. These pages are for information only and not to be construed as the only way, or even the perceived correct way of doing things. You are responsible for your own construction techniques. THANKS: I would have had a bigger uphill struggle without the following sources: Steenaero, my local EAA chapter, Chip Cotten, Randy Echtinaw, homebuiltairplanes.com and biplaneforum.com