I think is was some time in 2009. I don’t really remember.

I’d flown my bought 1987 Long-EZ for a while and wanted to learn about fibreglass construction. Later I did the Education Chapter from the plans that came with the plane.

This was a flat layup with several layers, that worked out OK. Then a so called confidence piece to prove how tough and strong composites can be. Finally a bookend which was complex and used many of the basic techniques needed for plane building.

Here’s that piece which is just very weak foam buried in several layers of fiberglass. It is amazingly strong and you can hardly even flex it.

I did them all and learned a lot. After finishing the bookend, I did such a poor job that I decided NOT to build a plane or EVEN consider it.

I was being encouraged by a couple of local builders to get into building. I thought they were crazy and the plans were far too hard for me to understand and it is a HUGE task of many years better left for talented people.

So the book end …ended up being…a book end. And that was the end of it except I was able to do a few small jobs on my flying plane… really small jobs.

oh… and I put a photo of my old 17 meter glider on that bookend. A great aircraft.

Book end done Not the worlds best…. and it was hardly a ‘confidence piece’.