Pilot spends 3 years building RV7A in his basement, with NO WAY OUT. SOLVED!

mikea

mikea

Touchdown! Greaser!
Gone West
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A Vans RV7A low-wing two-seater was mailed in pieces, and over the last nine years he diligently put them all together.
...
So he settled on dismantling the basement wall. That attracted a bunch of his neighbors to see what will surely become neighborhood legend.
With no previous practice, Reeves, three men, one chain and a truck slowly pulled the plane on its first voyage.
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http://www.wgal.com/r/28028502/detail.html
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:lol:

"mailed?" Doesn't UPS serve Pennsylvania?

Another indication of the fine reporting here is that one step overlooked is the whole "excavating a path through the earth outside of the foundation" part.
 
Rather insightful comment: If he doesn't have what it takes to foresee a problem getting an airplane out of his house, how will he do in the air?
 
Even better is that as he is building this he has sooooo many times that he could have stepped back and said "hmmm this is getting too big to take out the door maybe I should stop now and take it apart while I can and find a garage somewhere...".
 
I bet he always planned to get it out that way but wasn't letting on to the Mrs. until he could say "It's done honey, but I can't get it out. It'll only be a little mess, I promise!"

The whole part about him wanting to build a glass floor in the living room so they could look down into the airplane workshop kinda makes him sound a bit more than eccentric, on the scale of "all stocked up on crazy here!"
 
Lot's of people plan this stuff. It's an excuse to add an entrance to the basement, or in my buddies case, tear down the old house and build a new one (deal he made with his wife).
 
Im not the most knowledgible about this. But I figure that you have to have ok smarts to put that plane together. Ok smarts=I know I have to find a way out in NINE YEARS. Just an assumption on my part.
 
ship.jpg


This replica Viking ship was built in the basement of a potato warehouse in Hawley,MN the 70s. Once they were done, they took off the front wall of the warehouse, pulled the ship out with a tow-truck and demolished the building afterwards.
 
woodstock said:
Even better is that as he is building this he has sooooo many times that he could have stepped back and said "hmmm this is getting too big to take out the door maybe I should stop now and take it apart while I can and find a garage somewhere...".
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Trust me... If you've spent enough time and effort to get the plane to the point that it's at in the photo, taking a basement wall down is MUCH farther up the list than disassembling the project.

My guess is that taking the wall down wasn't a 'surprise' to him. I'm pretty sure he didn't just come to a realization one day "Oh no, I've built the plane and I can't get it through the door. doh!"
 
mikea said:
:lol:

"mailed?" Doesn't UPS serve Pennsylvania?

Another indication of the fine reporting here is that one step overlooked is the whole "excavating a path through the earth outside of the foundation" part.
Click to expand...

More like Yellow Freight or the like... UPS wouldn't touch this stuff with a 10 ft. pole (without charging TWO arms and a leg).
 
When he is flying, and he comes to a building he will probably just run into it. It has been done before, however. Nothing new there.
 
I sure hope that was planned. But, If it was, why would he want news coverage that makes him look like an idiot and a person not qualified to be a pilot? (poor decision making? lol)

If it is not planned, him, his whole family, and all his friends are idiots. I am sure he has showed a ton of people his progress over the last 3 years, and I have a really hard time believing not a single person would ask how he was gonna get it out.
 
It was probably his way of getting a basement entrance. His wife said no for years. But when he showed her that he couldn't get the plane out, she finally agreed and, voila, instant patio doors!
 
ajstoner21 said:
I sure hope that was planned. But, If it was, why would he want news coverage that makes him look like an idiot and a person not qualified to be a pilot? (poor decision making? lol)

If it is not planned, him, his whole family, and all his friends are idiots. I am sure he has showed a ton of people his progress over the last 3 years, and I have a really hard time believing not a single person would ask how he was gonna get it out.
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Don't confuse the real story with the one the news services present. Whether through ingnorance, inattention, or a need to create a story to drive ratings, many stories aren't representative of what really happened.

I suspect the guy knew exactly what he was doing and the TV folks simply didn't mention that part...
 
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It would have been something if he couldn't get a permit to do such work on his house.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
It would have been something if he couldn't get a permit to do such work on his house.
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That would be one of the 'better to ask for forgiveness than beg for permission' situations. Any permit fine is going to be cheaper than 6months rent for a hangar. Very little permitting required for 'repair' unless he starts adding a storm cellar or extra door.
 
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