Teenie II homebuilt airplane

I have been driven by the desire to design and build my own airplane ever since I was a child. I went to college with the goal of becoming an aeronautical engineer but as things turned out I took a very different career path. The issue was I envisioned a career in the field as sitting at a desk working out someone else's design, and for years, a very small piece of the design at that. This just didn't appeal to me as I had some very clear ideas of what I would like to see flying. So I decided to change my education towards something else that inspired me.

I admire individuals such as Burt Rutan who build things right from concepts in their own head, with small budgets and small teams. I decided to build an airplane by myself, and then with that experience, go on to design something of my own and build that later. The airplane I chose is called the "Teenie II." It is a small, single-seat, low-wing, conventional-geared airplane built almost entirely of aluminum and powered by a Volkswagen engine.

I ordered my plans a few weeks ago in mid-November. I felt like a kid again waiting for the plans to arrive in the mail. The plans arrived quickly so my wait wasn't very long at all. I laugh when I think about their arrival. I ran back into the house and carefully opened the package. I actually remember the clean vinyl smell of the binder that the manual came in. It really was like opening a birthday present and finding the thing that you really really really wanted inside! In fact it was a birthday present, as the money I received from my father for my birthday went towards the purchase price! Thanks dad! So the adventure is just beginning and I look forward to every step of the way!