Mike Henley wrote:

do you have to have some pro experience or can anyone build such a
thingie...

I'd never done any sheet metal work until I started an
all-aluminum RV-4. You certainly don't need 'pro
experience.' What really helps is talking to people,
pros and amateurs, who have done it before. Building
is, in general, not a difficult task, it's a whole
looooong series of fairly easy ones strung together.
When you're starting patience is probably a better
quality than experience, 'cause you'll gain experience
(and occasionally lose patience) as you go.

A quick scan through the past few months on this
newsgroup will show you a handful of first flights -
people putting their soft, pink bodies behind the
controls of an airplane they built, and going flying.
Myself included. I've flown in and flown some pretty
impressive stuff, but I can honestly say that nothing
compares to leaving the ground in something you built
yourself. I'm still grinning.

So Bob Reed, Del Rawlins, Corky Scott, Mike Pilla,
Steve Genotte, et. al., get to work! g

Dave 'hinge-head' Hyde