Dream Take Flight

Tackling building your own airplane and other projects in life Women in Aviation International Conference Nashville, Tennessee March 16, 2013

Tackling building your own airplane and other projects in life... What is it about us? What drives us? We might be different. We ARE different.

We are achievers – look at where we are now We had to work harder to get here We are leading and innovating in our fields Our “inner child” has a strong voice yet we are disciplined and focused We have what it takes to build or restore our own aircraft

Time is flying... Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?

You can use the same tools and techniques no matter what you want to achieve Have you thought about building or restoring your own airplane/helicopter/gyro/glider/ experimental design... ?

Start at the beginning. What do you want?

Start Here 1.Brainstorm your dreams. Write them down and think thoughtfully about each one. 2.Pick your top three dreams. Let them incubate. 3.Decide on the one you will start first. 4.If you aren’t totally passionate and excited about #1, start over!

Now the Fun Starts “Build your own airplane” is #1 – Congratulations! Write it down in detail, with start date and completion date. You have just jumpstarted your brain’s goal achievement center. Identify the obstacles you will face. Write them down. Identify the solutions you will devise to overcome the obstacles. Visualize yourself choosing, building, testing, and flying your personal aircraft every night as you fall asleep.

Nuts and Bolts Resources for Success EAA Sportair Workshops Building and Restoring Clubs EAA Technical Counselors and Flight Advisors FAA Forums Local EAA Chapters and Builders Oshkosh and Sun N Fun Identify a Mentor Books and Magazines Airshows Trade Schools

Your Flight Path Research your top three aircraft choices Visit the manufacturer and fly the airplane Talk to current builders and flyers Read everything you can about the aircraft Choose one (build the others later ) Assemble the timeline and refine the dates you set earlier

Perseverance Focus and discipline – you are already good at this Deal with unanticipated obstacles and setbacks Continue to visualize your dream – let your subconscious fly Get help from others when you need it Don’t set deadlines but do set goals

Finish and Fly! Your current job may not allow you to “fly for fun” – now you are free to fly when and where you want Less than 25% of builders finish and fly – you are now one of the few to fulfill this challenging achievement You can design in exactly what you want – from colors to electronics If you restore an aircraft, you have a piece of history

The Homeowners Association didn’t say anything about not parking an aircraft in the driveway...

Panel Ponderings What gave you the confidence to build or restore an aircraft? What piece of advice would you give to a perspective first time builder or restorer? What resources were the most valuable? How did you balance work and family while building an aircraft? What was your biggest disappointment? Biggest joy? Did building your own aircraft change you personally? In what way? How did you persevere through the process to completion? Did your gender help or hurt your success? Did you have mentors? Would you do things differently, looking back?

Thank You