Experimental aircraft pilot shares love of hobby

FLORENCE - It didn't take Alex Sloan long to get the flying bug once he took to the air.

The Florence man decided to take a few flying lessons in 1970, getting the idea from a friend who had told him of his plans to be a pilot.

So, Sloan rode with a local pilot during an initial lesson and enjoyed the experience. "It was the smoothest feeling up there," the retired Turtle Point Country Club golf professional said last week.

By 1971, he had received his pilot's license.

Soon, Sloan wanted a plane to call his own but dreaded the cost and annual inspection fees.

So, he came up with an idea that even launched a local club: Sloan was going to build an airplane.

That was the advent of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 615.

Today, the northwest Alabama chapter has about 70 members "and is growing all the time," Sloan said.

Its members appreciate all he has done through the years. In fact, they hosted a dinner earlier this month in his honor and presented Sloan with a plaque.

"He's the one who got it chartered here, and has done so much for all of us in the club," said Jim Thompson, a member of the local chapter. "He's a super guy. He has a lot of humility, and it's not just put on."

Sloan recalls his initial hopes for building his own airplane. He contacted a well known Experimental Aircraft Association aircraft designer, Dick Van Grunsven, who provided Sloan with a blueprint of Van Grunsven's design for an RV-3 experimental craft. Sloan was intrigued.

The problem was, a kit wasn't available at the time. "It had to be scratch built, which meant you basically had to manufacture some of the parts," Thompson said.

Sloan said he had a lot of help from pilots, mechanics and others interested in aviation.

"I was amazed at the warmth shown me by the aviation community during that time," he said. "I made up my mind then to form an EAA club in the Shoals."

The club started with the required minimum 10 members, including Sloan's wife, and began meeting monthly at the Broadway Recreation Center in Florence.

"Little by little, things started to fall into place, and we finally elected a president and officers so they could meet on weekends at the airport," Sloan said.

"At one time, we were building 17 Van Grunsven planes in this area at once," he said. "The requirement is that the home builder do 51 percent of the work in building an airplane, so we could help each other."

He said it takes about 2,500 hours of labor to complete an experimental aircraft. "There's a fast-build kit that can be done in 1,000 hours, but you pay a price for it."

He said the cost of a kit today ranges from $20,000 to $50,000, depending how much work you want done ahead of time. "The first one I built was around $7,000," he said.

The largest initial expense for Sloan was in aircraft tools, which amounted to some $1,000.

Finally, Sloan was ready for his first flight in his RV-3. He planned it for Dec. 17, 1983, exactly 80 years to the day after Orville and Wilbur Wright's first successful flight.

And, wouldn't you know it, "I woke up that morning to see snow on the ground," Sloan said.

So, he flew a day later. The flight went well, although he noticed some shaking in the engine. Sloan also noticed a plane following him.

After Sloan and the pilot of the other plane landed, that pilot, Joe Fleeman, introduced himself. Sloan said Fleeman recognized Sloan was flying an experimental plane, and Fleeman was a mechanic who had built one as well.

Sloan told him about the shaking problem, and Fleeman told him he'd had the same problem the first time. Fleeman showed him what the problem was, and they fixed it and the plane flew beautifully afterward.

Since that time, Sloan has built a second plane, although both are sold now.

All of his flights have gone well, with the exception of one on Dec. 27, 1986, in which he had engine problems caused by a new floater. Ironically, Sloan had just put in the floater because of a new Federal Aviation Administration regulation. "I had to take out a good one and put in what turned out to be a bad one."

Sloan crash-landed in Russellville that day, with his plane sliding into a mass of trees.

He had numerous broken bones in his back, leg and hand. "Other than that, it wasn't serious," Sloan jokes.

Sloan crawled from the wreckage and found someone. "He came up to me, looked at me, and said, 'Pro, what are you doing here?'," Sloan said. Sloan looked up to discover it was someone he knew from Turtle Point.

"I said, 'I just dropped in and thought I'd see if you could help me,' " Sloan said.

Throughout the years, Sloan has helped build several planes, and is on the national council for the EAA Homebuilders, where he also serves as a technical counselor, helping assure all EAA planes are safely built.

He said it's a fun hobby, and the people he has met make it even more enjoyable. "I've had so many people help me, and the chapter's just like a big family."

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@TimesDaily.com.