What Our Members Are Building/Restoring — Missouri Glasair Sportsman | Aviation

By Keith Eisberg, EAA Lifetime 1136501

This piece originally ran in the July 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

My SkyRocket, a kitbuilt Glasair Sportsman, is my first kitbuilt aircraft. It is also the first kit sold by Glasair and the first kit flying. The famously successful Two Weeks to Taxi program previously offered by Glasair for building an airplane had stopped during COVID which made my build tremendously more difficult than I anticipated. I have been flying for more than 40 years and have rebuilt two Cessnas, but I had never built an airplane from a kit. It was quite an eye-opening experience. Lots of highs and lows but pure satisfaction seeing the final result. Building from a kit is tremendously different than rebuilding a certified airplane. My issue is the fact that I am a perfectionist. So, when it came to building SkyRocket, I did not compromise and in fact continued to build it along the same principles of a certified airplane. I started the build in April 2022 with a builder assist from a one-man shop that told me the airplane would be finished in two months, and then I’d be able to fly it. That was wrong in so many ways. After those two months, I was on my own to complete the airplane. There were other experienced Glasair builders that helped me when I needed extra help. It took me until September to be ready for the first test flight. And…