Why I'm Building My Own Aeroplane

’I’ve always been fascinated with aeroplanes. I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where there were barely any roads. The main road out of our area wasn’t tarred, and during the rainy season it would become flooded and muddy. When my sisters and I walked along the flooded road to school, I’d see aeroplanes flying above us. I’d be envious of whoever was in the plane because we were down on the ground, walking in mud.

- Mike Ojo

INSIDE MIKE’S KIT

SLING TSi KIT

The Sling TSi is a four-person, single-engine plane from Sling Aircraft (a South African company), complete with glass cockpit and gull-wing doors. It’s modern, easy to fly, and packed with as many cool toys as you’re willing to install (the more, the better).

ROTAX 915 iS

Even at max take-off weight, with four adults and a load of fuel, the Rotax 915 iS can lift the plane into the sky at 1 000 feet (305 m) per minute and cruise at 155 knots (287 km/h). Computerisation keeps the engine running at maximum efficiency.

AIRMASTER CONSTANT SPEED PROP

A constant-speed propeller adjusts the pitch angle of the blades to maintain speed regardless of engine rpm. This allows the plane’s engine to create different amounts of thrust depending on what stage of flight you’re in.

GARMIN G3X TOUCH

This glass touchscreen display provides many of the same avionics features the big boys have, including flight charts, airport diagrams, a moving GPS map, and all manner of aircraft-specific gauges such as fuel, flaps, trim, alerts, and engine statistics.

GARMIN G5 ELECTRONIC FLIGHT INSTRUMENT