Air support: Seagrove man and his buddies building an airplane from the ground up

Joe Stanko has lofty ambitions and an unusual hobby.

The Seagrove Beach resident spends his spare time building an airplane.

Stanko picked up the plane kit in May of 2007. He bought it over the phone, sight unseen, from a guy he found online in Palmdale, Calif., who had started it, but didn’t want to finish.

Stanko talked three of his buddies into taking a road trip with him to Albuquerque, N.M., to meet the man and pick it up.

“We had a great time,” said Stanko of the male road trip. 

The men hauled the kit back to Seagrove on a trailer. Two units at a nearby storage facility were rented for storage and working space, and these days, in his free time, that’s where Stanko can be found.

Joining in the fun can usually be found any number of his curious and handy friends. 

“I always wanted to build an airplane,” said Stanko, who first got his pilot’s license in 1969 in Rochester, Minn. “I have had an interest in flying all my life. I used to go to a small landing strip outside Youngstown, Ohio, and watch planes. I like doing things with my hands. I once had a wood shop and built a sailboat by hand. I like the challenge of building as much as flying.”

So much does he enjoy a challenge that Stanko is building the Zodiac 601X2 two-seater plane’s Corvair engine instead of buying one.

Stanko expects to have the project complete and airworthy within two years.

When done, the aircraft will have a 600-mile range and the capability to cruise at 135 mph.

“Overall, getting it here was the biggest challenge,” he said. “The trip was the most fun.”