Why We Fly

Pilot ready to tackle another homebuilt

A typical pilot does not build three airplanes--then begin planning for a fourth--but Chris Esselstyn is not typical.

His motivation stems from an early introduction into aviation. As a youngster, Esselstyn and his family enjoyed several trips across the country via several aircraft his father owned over the years. At age 13, he was assisting his dad in building a glider. By age 17, Esselstyn had started his flight training and got as far as the first solo, but ran out of funds and lost interest.

After college, Esselstyn ventured west in pursuit of skiing the Rockies, obtaining work at various ski lodges. In Wyoming, his interest in flying was rekindled through a ground school program offered at Jackson Hole Aviation. "Once again, flying became my focus, and I channeled all of my earnings into completing my private certificate," he recalls. His flight examiner was none other than Sparky Immeson, a master of mountain flying who has authored books on the subject.

"The mountain flying was exceptionally exciting, but there are financial limitations that come with living the life of a ski bum," he says. So Esselstyn returned home to Waukesha, Wisconsin, to work in the family business of making foundry patterns. He still wanted to fly. "But I was disappointed in rental cost, rental restrictions, and aircraft availability," Esselstyn says. His solution was to build his own, choosing the single-seat, Rutan-designed Quickie. He completed it within three years and flew it about 280 hours.

In 1986, Esselstyn got married. The single-seat Quickie was no longer sufficient. Soon thereafter, he began building a Cozy III, a project that would take about four years. He completed instrument training in 1989. The three-seater and the instrument rating allowed him to log another 1,300 hours taking cross-country trips for pleasure and business.

About 10 years went by before Esselstyn started to envision ways to obtain a tad more out of flight, "the desire to get through and above the ever-changing Wisconsin weather a bit faster and higher." His first two projects were built from plans, but what he really was looking for did not quite exist yet. Essentially, it was to be a Cozy Mk IV with a few alterations: a larger six-cylinder Lycoming IO-540, retractable landing gear, and a dual electronic flight information system display.

The wings and engine mounts were beefed up, the empennage lengthened 12.5 inches to account for weight and balance, and a modified cowl was needed to improve engine cooling. Ideas that began in 1999 took about six years to see fruition, but by 2005, the Cozy 540RG was complete. Truly a thing of beauty, it climbs 2,500 feet per minute at 120 knots, cruises at 200 knots, and sounds curiously similar to a P-51 Mustang.

But why a canard, and why fiberglass over other traditional materials? "The canards are designed to be very safe; stall- and spin-proof. And fiberglass," Esselstyn adds with the smile of an artisan, "is easy to work with, yielding smooth, sexy results.

"However, if you intend to build as a means to fly," Esselstyn advises, "make sure that you first enjoy building." He has seen many would-be builders abandon projects. In addition, joining the local EAA chapter is another recommendation. "It has surrounded me with knowledgeable, experienced individuals, especially helpful when working through the difficulties involved with building and flying experimental aircraft."

To build an airplane is a formidable undertaking, no doubt about it, but "is extremely rewarding," says Esselstyn. While it likely will be several years until beginning his next project, he is already dreaming up "ideas for the next build."

Dan Hoefert is a private pilot who lives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.