I’m your host, Chris Mallory.  I love everything about flying and airplanes:  building them, flying them, fixing them, flying them, and flying them.  Building my own airplane has always been a dream, and I’m having a great time making it come true.

I have been flying high-performance aircraft for twenty years as a Weapons Systems Officer, WSO, in the United States Air Force.  That means I sit in the back seat of the fighter and run the radar and guide the bombs to the target.  I also have a full set of controls and have logged quite a few hours on the stick.  I’ve got over 3500 hours flying in the T-37, T-38, T-43, T-1, T-39, T-6, F-4, F-111 and F-15E.  I’ve also flown in the F-15D, F-18 and F-16.  I’ve known since I was a little kid that I wanted to fly jets.  Looking back I can’t believe I’ve been able to do all that.

On the civilian side, I hold a multi-engine land, instrument rating and have over 750 hours flying “little” airplanes.  I have my Airframe and Powerplant, A&P, license, and am waiting to retire from the Air Force before I get my Inspection Authority, IA. 

The first mechanical thing I remember doing was the “frame-up restoration” on my bicycle that my dad and I did when I was 10.  Since then I have moved on to bigger projects with more horsepower.  I’ve restored a 1937 Chevy ½ ton pickup truck and built a Big Bear Chopper motorcycle.  So why not build my own airplane?