Iowa pilots help others soar

BOONE, Iowa — Three veteran pilots are helping local aviators take off by building one airplane a time.

Keith Campbell, Kevin Horn and Bob Woolery, who teamed up to form WC Aircraft Works a few years ago, help pilots build experimental aircraft in a hanger near Boone Municipal Airport.

“People wanted a place to do it so we took over the whole hanger — that way we could rent places out for people to build their own airplanes,” Campbell said.

Campbell, Horn and Woolery technically don’t build aircraft for others but provide assistance and oversight.

“Basically they build their own aircraft and we help them if they need it,” Campbell said. “We also teach a class on building.”

The are 11 airplanes in the hanger now. Three of them are capable of flight.

“There is a lot of activity out here which helps the airport,” Campbell said, because once owners finish their planes, they rent hanger space and frequently fuel up there.

Assembling airplanes comes with more ease than it once did. At WC Aircraft Works, pilots use kits that allow them to specify their preferred components from fiberglass to wood frames. A standard kit includes everything needed to build an airframe. A “quick-build” kit comes with assembled wings and a fuselage.

“The particular design that we’re working mostly on has been around almost 45 years now and it’s well proven. It’s called the RV Series,” Campbell said

The series gets its name from Richard Van Grunsven, who designed the top-of-the-line aircraft assembly kits.

“There are over 6,000 of them flying somewhere in the world,” Campbell said.

When he was just a boy, Campbell said his uncle was a pilot and it was then that his dreams of flying began to take off.

“I used to love to go down and get a ride, and I’ve always been interested in aviation,” he said.

After getting his pilot’s license in 1970, Campbell has nearly 2,800 hours of flight time. Only 500 of his hours have been in factory-built airplanes. The rest came in experimental aircraft.

Just why would a pilot want to build a plane? Campbell can give many reasons.

First, there’s cost savings. A typical four-seat Cessna can cost close to $400,000 and will top out at 125 miles per hour. An experimental aircraft of a similar size can cost closer to $200,000, travel faster and offer more space for passengers.

“You’re going to wind up going close to 200 miles per hour and carrying four people and luggage,” he said. “If you take a Cessna and fill it up with fuel and luggage, you can’t carry four people.”

The resale value of a $200,000 experimental plane can offer up to a $50,000 return on the investment.

While some may be interested in selling their aircraft, Campbell said that’s not the case for many local pilots.

“Most of them aren’t building it for the idea of making money on it but for the enjoyment of building it and being able to get in it and go cross country,” he said.

Campbell’s first plane was made of wood and fiberglass and powered by a Volkswagen engine. The three others that he built for himself, however, were all RV models.

Generally, building an RV Series airplane can take about two years.

A little over two years ago, Kelley Kokemiller began building his Vans Aircraft RV-9A on his farm south of Boone.

“I’ve always wanted to fly ever since I was a little kid,” Kokemiller said.

After the project got under way, Kokemiller came to CW Aircraft Works to continue working toward his dream.

“He’s a good example of one that came in to build his own airplane,” said Campbell.

Kokemiller went with the standard kit and once completed, his new RV model will replace the 1961 Piper Colt that he flies.

Kokemiller’s plane will have almost twice the weight capacity of his Piper Colt and will travel nearly twice as fast — topping out about 175 to 180 miles per hour.

Kokemiller isn’t sure if his first plane will be the only one that he builds. He said that his wife says it will be, but speaking from experience, Campbell begs to differ.

“It kind of gets in your blood just like anything else,” Campbell said.

With this winter seeming as if it will never end, outside of farming, Kokemiller has devoted his plenty of time to his interest.

“I’ve made a lot of progress this winter,” he said.

Within a few months, Kokemiller will take to the sky and fulfill his dream of building his own airplane.

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