EAA Sport Aviation - January 2012

We’re learning, we’re using new tools, we’re problem-solving, and we’re building something worthwhile with our very own hands.

The 90 Percen T rule

Similar to the well-known homebuilding adage of being 90 percent done and having 90 percent to go, I have a 90 percent rule for why I’m building this airplane. It’s 90 percent because I want an airplane one day, but it’s also 90 percent because I want a meaningful and rewarding project.

It’s similar to those legendary $100 hamburgers. Sure, we eventually want to eat lunch, but that’s not really the purpose; it’s just our excuse to fly. It’s about the journey, not the destination.

With some reflection I finally made
peace that my six months making lightening
holes “the hard way” were not in vain. This
project is just one giant $100 hamburger,
where the journey is just as valuable as the
hamburger at the end.

This project is just one giant $100 hamburger, where the journey is just as valuable as the hamburger at the end.

fly cutter for the first time, a router, a shop
press, or countless other tools. We wouldn’t
have scratched our heads about how to
chamfer the edge of our homemade dies, and
we wouldn’t have held our breath the first
time we flanged a lightening hole. Those
experiences are just as valuable to me as one
day owning an airplane.

Brady Lane, EAA 808095, is a multimedia journalist for EAA and a sport pilot. Visit www.

SportAviation.org for a link to his blog where you can watch him work on his plane live every Tuesday evening, and to see video of the Mittler Bros. machine dies. To contact Brady, e-mail blane@eaa.org.