The Bahamas? Alaska? Canada? Ever since Brandon and Brent Grosdidier built their own airplane, there’s no telling where they’ll take it next.

The brothers worked for six years to build a Van’s RV-10, so they don’t see much commercial flying in their futures. They do, however, see flying to every state on their horizon.

Brandon and Brent finished their plane in February, and they’ve been frequent flyers ever since.

The influence of a neighbor

The brothers got into flying at a young age after seeing their neighbor Milton Bland taking off at the runway down the street from their grandpa’s land. They’d be outside hunting or fishing and see a plane take off.

They never caught a ride with Bland, but they started learning about planes from him. They also started flying their RC planes off his runway.

When they were about 10 years old, they did a short flight with McFarland Aviation over the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City. That’s when they found a true passion for it and knew it needed to be part of their lives forever.

Eventually, they bought a powered parachute in 2008 and asked Bland if they could use his runway for takeoffs.

Then they asked if they could keep it in his hangar. In turn, they said they would maintain the grass runway.

Now, they own the runway Bland started in the ‘80s and use it every day. They’ve since built homes with the hangar between them and the runway in front.

Building a dream

The brothers’ got their licenses in 2012, and then they got busy with kids and it was hard to rent a plane.

After Brandon and Brent built the hangar and the houses were done, they realized they were bored and ready for the next thing.

Eventually, they looked into buying a four-seat plane, but the price just seemed unrealistic. They started to see information about building your own plane and looked into it.

With the build kits, they could slowly purchase different pieces while working on the build. It also allowed for another level of customization. They started the build in 2019.

After learning and completing so many technical components of the build, like the wiring and avionics, it makes it easier to fix things in the future. They’ll be able to change things to make them even more perfect to how they want them and learn more to make future builds faster, Brandon said.

Before finishing their own plane, they purchased a two-person plane built in the 1940s. That helped them build flight hours and get comfortable in the air.

Once the plane was finished, a lot of paperwork had to be completed, hours logged and checked by the FFA to allow them to fly with passengers. The plane is equivalent to an SR 20 or SR 22, which is the No. 1 general aviation airplane.

The project really did take blood, sweat and tears, and it wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t have supportive wives and family, Brent said.

There was never a time they wondered if they could get it done. There were just times when they wished the time would hurry up because they wanted to fly, Brent said. They would spend a majority of their weekends working on the plane and could spend a couple of months working on one small tedious piece that felt never ending.

Brandon’s wife, Charis, said she never doubted they’d make it happen.

Although there were times when they felt behind schedule, she knew they’d catch up and it would all be worth it in the end.

Kim, Brent’s wife, said if it’s something related to flying, they’re going to do it and get it done.

Charis said it felt like “winning the lottery” when the plane was finished. Even though she knew it would happen, the moment she saw it take off, it dawned on her that a plane her husband had built was actually flying, she said.

Something they were born to do

The first time Kim went up in the plane, she couldn’t stop looking around and listening to them working and checking everything.

The plane is so comfortable to fly in it almost feels like a jetliner, Charis said.

When the brothers heard their sisters were going to Florida earlier this year, they joked one night after a few drinks that they’d meet them there. In the morning, they texted and asked if they were serious about meeting in Florida. Next thing you know, Brent and Brandon were on their longest flight to date to Clearwater, Florida.

“Not the last, either,” Brandon said.

That was in February, and was a surreal experience. They avoided a lot of weather by leaving early, but that didn’t make the portion of the flight over the Gulf any less intense, they said. Being in communication with air traffic control the whole time about traffic and weather made it more comfortable though, he said.

They don’t yet have the qualifications to fly in the clouds, so making sure weather was cooperative was even more important in the flight to Florida. They’re working now on getting a license to make that possible.

In the meantime, they’ll take quick flights over to Hutchinson or Wichita for lunch and are always taking neighbors, friends and family up with them.

“Now our feeling is we want to do the next one,” Brandon said. “We used to get a kick out of just taking off and going to lunch, and going to lunch now I’m kind of like, that’s almost boring.”

Having the ability to fly across the U.S. after taking off in front of their houses makes the country feel a lot smaller, they said.

Kim and Charis are pretty set on never having to fly commercial again – not when they have an airplane next door that can take them anywhere they want to go. It’s clear this is something the brothers were born to do, Charis said.

They’re also good at explaining the process in flight to newcomers and making sure they feel safe throughout, Kim said.

All the projects they’ve ever done have been together, and it’s amazing to see them work together, Kim said.

The brothers are willing to have people out to teach them about the build or to take them up on their first flight in a small plane, and it’s always exciting to see people’s reactions, Brandon said. They’ve had Boy Scouts come learn how it works.

It only takes one flight to change people’s minds about flying in a plane like this one, they agreed. They’ve seen firsthand how family and friends can become lovers of flying after going up once.

People always ask them if the years of building was worth it to have a hand-built plane they completed, and the answer has always been yes, they said.

The plan is to start building another plane of their own within the next couple of years, as well.

Building and flying planes is an expensive hobby, so working extra and doing side work has helped to make all this possible.

They’ve been having to work on re-budgeting for the rest of the year so they can now fit in more trips with the completed plan, Charis said.

“It does feel like you’re spoiled. You almost want to say to people like, it’s not the same as just any old plane. Like, they built it,” she said.