We own and maintain a Vans RV-6a. We didn’t build it – we bought it as a fixer-upper, and later painted it. Many pilots shy-away from homebuilts, but these days it is the most vigorous segment of general aviation. Over 9000 Vans aircraft are flying. Ours is a safe and sturdy aircraft.
It’s wonderful to be on the homebuilt side of the fence. You can do basic, common-sense maintenance on your own with no need to get a mechanic’s signature. This greatly reduces costs, and increases one’s sense of pride and involvement. Robin regained her license in our RV6a after a long lapse. She loves it, and flies it everywhere.
The song has many farcical in-jokes, but pilots of homebuilts have a great deal of their own blood and sweat and resources invested in each airframe.
It’s never a joke when you line up on the runway and open the throttle.
The Homebuilt C 3/4 ©2014 Dave Hadfield
I am a man of my hands. C Am [walkdown]
Don’t like being told what to do. F C
I figure things out for myself C Am
Though sometimes it’s painful, it’s true. F G
I’m someone who just likes to build.
It’s Art in mechanical form.
But when I constructed an airplane
It’s then that my world was transformed. F G C
A Pitts and an RV are certainly nice F C
Though Cessna 150s are one third the price G C
Some people buy this stuff right off the shelf F C Am
But I went ahead and I built it myself. G C
One float is off of a Cessna.
The other is off of a Maule.
It’s true they are 2 different sizes
But a crosswind takes care of it all.
The engine is part O-360
And part of it’s 985
But the hockey-stick prop’s a-turning
And that is what keeps me alive.
[chorus]
But no can stop me from building, Am Em
And you know the best thing of all Am Em
Is when I line up on the runway F C
And then fly away from it all Dm G
I rise up F Em Dm
And hear the call. F G Am
Risk the fall. F G
The rudder is not really crooked.
The paint is what’s fooling your eye.
The wings are exactly the same length
Or close enough to give ’em a try.
The ailerons go different directions
It’s what they’re required to do!
And when the wing flaps, start a flappin’
That’s simply your angle of view.
[chorus]