Wisconsin man built himself an airplane for $6,500 to save money

A man from Wisconsin built himself an entire single-engine airplane because he loved flying — but since he was on a budget, he had to improvise to get the entire cost under $6,500.

If you’re an aviation enthusiast, this story is definitely one that will tug at your heartstrings.

He built the aircraft in 2008, so while the number may not seem as significant today, it was a considerable amount back then, regardless.

Tim Buttles used his education and a great amount of creativity to successfully follow his passion.

He even registered the plane with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), so you know he was serious.

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Wisconsin man followed his passion

Buttles’ story was shared in an EAA video uploaded on YouTube, and it was certainly reasonable, to say the least.

The man, probably around his retirement, said that he didn’t want to do sit around and watch TV, so he decided to get out there and do what he loved.

Now, it wasn’t anything like this homemade electric airplane made by a designer, but you get the point.

Age doesn’t matter when you do something you relish, and he went on to build the Husky Chaser II.

However, there was only one problem — budget.

Airplane parts, just like modern times, were not affordable back in 2008.

Unlike modern-day single-engine aircraft that most enthusiasts have these days, there were only a few who had them.

He had around $6,000, but Buttles didn’t see that as a problem — all he had to do was improvise.

Getting creative to build an airplane on a budget

So, he got super-creative and saved money wherever he could, either by creating makeshift parts himself or reusing some from old cars or snow wagons.

For instance, Buttles resorted to silverware to create the latches on the wing by modifying silver spoons to act as latches.

He also used water gauges from old cars that didn’t need them anymore to work as oil gauges in his custom airplane.

If that doesn’t seem overboard, he further took a wheel from a snowmobile to use as the rear tail wheel.

That’s certainly one way to get around high costs, but it’s creative for sure.

After all — if it works, it works.

According to the FAA registration, the airplane is still active but hasn’t flown for some time.

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