Bibrak Qamar Chandio
bibrakc [at] gmail [dot] com
Bibrak is building a small plane that he hopes to fly back to Pakistan
The plane I am building is a Van's RV-8: a small experimental aircraft. The meaning of this project is to learn how to build, test, and maintain general aviation aircraft. The skills, connections, and experiences gained from this endeavor will help not only to inspire people to achieve long-term, high-risk goals, but will also help Pakistan adopt basic manufacturing skills.
While living here in the United States of America, I have gotten this little Americanism of building aircraft at home. Exploration, and thereby aviation, has been very American to its core. Since the early days of aviation, people in America have been building their own flying machines, experimenting and adventuring. Barnstorming in the early 20th century was very much grassroots and placed the common man at the center of what he can do and achieve, distinct from our modern experiences of regulations and "luxury" when we think of personal aviation.
Living in America has given me some sense and value of the individual, his dreams, and his freedom.
The Aircraft
The Van's RV-8 was designed by Richard VanGrunsven. It is a two-seat, tandem-configuration, tailwheel aircraft that is fully aerobatic, capable of loops, rolls, and other maneuvers. It is offered as a kit with thousands of small parts, blueprint drawings, and build/assembly instructions. You build it yourself, in your garage, over several thousand hours.
The Workshop
The workshop is currently in my living room and garage in Cupertino, California. The empennage parts are small enough to work on indoors. As the build progresses to larger sections like the wings and fuselage, I will need more space.