Building an airplane

John Maus’ desire to return to aviation led him to build his own airplane. Not only did he complete the task, but he finished the work in ten months.

“I made it my job. My wife, she called it my mistress,” Maus said. “I worked at it every day, including Christmas.”

Maus worked days of eight hours or more to build the aircraft. “Usually it takes people about five years to do this if they do it in their spare time on weekends,” he said. “I just worked on it full-time.”

Maus began his work on the Kit Fox 7 on August 16, 2006. The first flight occurred on July 3, 2007, although the plane was inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration in mid-June.

“It was a fun experience,” Maus said of building the plane. “It was a lot more work than what I anticipated.”

The July 3 flight was for FAA certification of the airplane. It included five hours of flight in a designated area as well as taxi and other ground tests at French Valley Airport, where Maus has based the airplane. The total testing consumed approximately ten hours, and Maus was given approval. “Then I could go any place with it and take passengers,” he said.

That right was exercised on July 6, when Maus flew with his wife, B.J. The couple flew around the area before returning to French Valley.

“It flies so nice,” John Maus said. “It sure flies sweet.”

Maus was also able to name the airplane after his wife; he obtained the registration N144BJ for the aircraft. “I wanted to say ‘1’ ‘4’ B.J., but I couldn’t get that,” he said. “I had to take 1 double 4.”

Although the Kit Fox 7 was the first plane Maus built himself, he has been a pilot for more than 40 years. When he lived in northeastern South Dakota he had an airstrip and hangar on his property; he was also the president of the South Dakota chapter of the Flying Farmers. Maus and his wife then moved to North Dakota before coming to Fallbrook in 1990.

Maus cut back on his flying after moving to Fallbrook but chose to return to piloting last year. He initially planned to buy a plane, but after deciding that his flight would be more for enjoyment than for travel he decided to build his own aircraft. “I’ve always wanted to do it,” he said.

Maus is retired from his professional activities. “I always have to be building something,” he said.

Maus underwent the process of finding kits for sale and found one in Fallbrook. “I kind of fell into it,” he said.

Fallbrook resident Ken Schooley, who has built several planes, provided the kit for Maus. That was Maus’ initiation with the Kit Fox 7 model. “I’d never even ridden in one, let alone flown one,” Maus said. “It was a totally new experience for me.”

Maus has joined the Experimental Aircraft Association and drove to the 2006 EAA convention in Arizona. He may fly to the next EAA convention in his new aircraft, but most of his flights will be around the area. “It’s basically a toy. We’re going to have some fun with it,” he said.