Glasair Aviation, Arlington, WA Videos

The last while of the 2017 Build-A-Plane event comprised busy days. Early in the week the crew gathered for a group shot with visitors from Lycoming. N numbers were applied on Jeppesen Day. (Note the company's cool Tee Amber is modeling.) On Thursday, Jet Aviation Day, we held our traditional Two Weeks to Taxi luncheon. Students were awarded their own plaques commemorating their accomplishment, as were builders Ken and Mike Baur. (Coach Sabrina Laurent received hers, too.) Friday, Redbird Flight Simulations Day, was an exciting time as people prepared the completed Sportsman for its first self-powered taxi. (Redbird's "Keep Calm and Fly On" T-shirt seemed especially appropriate.) Seattle's Fox affiliate Q13 was on hand to film the event. Glasair wishes to congratulate all the parties involved ... the Baurs, the Olney High School students and their coach, the GAMA representatives, our own Customer Assembly Center techs and all our guests ... on another incredibly successful year!

Build-A-Plane 2017 has begun!. Winners of this year's General Aviation Manufacturing Association's Aviation Design Challenge are already deep into Day One of their two-week stint building a Sportsman in Glasair's Customer Assembly Center. This year's winners hail from Olney, Texas, where they just graduated high school. They are: Amber McCutcheon, Kodee Scott, Bryant Castro and Michael Gomez. Their teacher/coach Sabrina Laurent is also here helping, as is her husband Jim acting as team chaperon. The builder of record for the Sportsman underway is Ken Baur, assisted by his son Mike.

Scott Alperin shared some of the scenery he and Robert Metelko enjoyed on their journey from Arlington, Wash., to Cleveland, Ohio, in Scott's new Sportsman. In order: the Cascades, Montana, South Dakota, the Missouri River, and Cleveland.

Scott Alperin met his completed new Glasair Sportsman for the first time this past Friday. Since then, with the co-piloting assistance of good friend Robert Metelko, Scott and his handsome Sportsman have journeyed the 1,900 NM from Arlington to their home base in Cleveland, Ohio. Before leaving Washington State, though, Scott had time to discuss the workings of Sportsman airplanes in general with retired Glasair guru, Ted Setzer, and this plane in particular with Glasair assembly tech Shaun Hunt.

Another pleased and proud graduate of Glasair Aviation's Two Weeks to Taxi program shows off her new Sportsman. Rhea Sherwood is one of our recent builders. Rhea and her husband Russell assembled their Sportsman beginning late last summer and arrived to fly their plane home to Texas after completion of its fly-off hours and painting. Says Rhea, "The build was a great learning experience, and now with my repairman certificate I will undoubtedly continue to learn for years to come." The Sherwoods are a two-Glasair family, the couple having previously completed Russell's Glasair I RG. After selling her '68 Mooney, Rhea was looking for a four-place experimental. Being partial to Glasair Aviation product, the Sportsman seemed the natural choice. The couple live at an airpark and find it's "a dream come true to get up each day to find our Glasairs just waiting for us to go flying."

There's nothing like a crisp, clear day to show off a superior paint job on a superior airplane. These photos were taken December 7, the day Bob Seager's Sportsman took its maiden flight to its new home in High River, Alberta, Canada.The frost on the Arlington airfield seems to match the plane's metallic paint. Bob assembled his Sportsman in 14 days employing Glasair's Two Weeks to Taxi program. This one is so gorgeous we kind of hate to see it go.

Enroute to Hermosillo
Bjorn and Nachshon flew out from Imperial Airport in southern California this past Friday morning and were quickly transferred over to Mexican air traffic control. Soon afterward they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border for a 2.5 hour flight over beautiful sand dunes to Hermosillo Airport (MMHO). As Bjorn relates, "Upon landing we were met by two soldiers who inspected the outside of the aircraft looking for no one knows what. Seeing me in overalls, they asked Nachshon if I was an officer. Nachshon jokingly replied that I was a general. They immediately asked for photos with me. From that moment on customs and immigration procedures (separate persons) went on very friendly." They departed Hermosillo in the afternoon enroute to Los Mochis Airport (MMML). Again they were greeted by Mexican soldiers. The "general" story did its "miracle" again -- the soldiers offered to carry their luggage the 400 yards to the terminal. Bjorn concluded his day saying "We were very fortunate to have AirJourney of Florida as the handlers of our trip. All flight plans were made in advance, border crossing was a non-event and [our] hotel was booked for us prior to our landing." Continue following Bjorn and Nachshon at https://share.delorme.com/BjornHermann.

Spectacular Pacific Northwest autumn flight through the North Cascades following Highway 20 from Winthrop to Arlington. Just what a Glasair Diesel Sportsman was designed to do.