Building & Bonding
RENFREW — On June 4, Andrew Kriley graduated with a 4.0 from Seneca Valley High School.
Ten athletic letters and an engineering certificate are some measure of his achievements there.
Additionally, a $180,000 ROTC scholarship endorsed his readiness for testing his wings at college.
Although Andrew points to family time as a factor in his success, one-on-one time with his father Phil also shaped his development.
Father and son both are pilots, and the duo has spent 3Z\x years building a single-engine plane in the family's basement. Estimating their progress at about halfway, the Krileys continue to share that bond with the goal of testing those wings in the future.
"When I was real young he always flew model airplanes — and it just turned into the real thing," said Andrew, who earned his solo flying endorsement when he turned 16 two years ago.Different from a private pilot's license, the solo endorsement means Andrew is still a student pilot, but he can fly alone at the discretion of his instructor.Although many teens solo after countless practice hours in the air, Andrew estimates logging eight or nine hours of training time.Chalk one up for dad."I used to fly all the time with my dad, and he was letting me fly once we were up," Andrew said, explaining an increasing familiarity with how to handle the plane. "So I knew a lot about how to control it."After a period of time maneuvering an aircraft under his father's supervision, Andrew decided to learn to fly a plane on his own."This is something I'm going to enjoy doing," Andrew recalled thinking. "So I went and did it."Although Andrew's initial exposure to flying came at 7 or 8 years old via the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program, he later would accompany Phil as a member of the Moraine Flying Club, based at the Butler Farm Show Grounds. Phil later joined the Condor Aero Club at the Zelienople Airport, often flying with Andrew in tow.A licensed pilot since 2001, Phil bought his own single-engine plane, a 1967 Beechcraft Musketeer, in 2007.
Two years later, when his daughter Martha began studies at Case Western Reserve University, Phil and his wife Robin decided the expense of owning a plane outweighed the benefits — especially since rental planes were available through the flying club."It was an expensive luxury we didn't think we could afford," Phil recalled.Missing that luxury nonetheless, Phil soon realized he could build his own aircraft as a cost-effective and fun alternative.The Krileys ultimately chose to build a plane from scratch instead of a kit, partly to temper the outlay of cash and partly because their goal was a four-seater — not often available in kits.They purchased plans for the Cozy Mark IV, a single-engine composite canard pusher. When finished, the aircraft will measure 16.9 feet with a 28-foot wing span. But for now, the plane is emerging piece by piece beginning with rigid, specialized foam. The foam is cut to precision, then sandwiched between many layers of fiberglass cloth impregnated with epoxy.According to the Krileys, different types of fabric are used for different purposes. Sometimes adhering the fabric is tricky. Once adhered, sanding and vacuuming ensue.Some parts of the plane will need 15 to 20 layers of fiberglass. Others will need just two."The fiberglassing takes a good bit of prep work," Phil said.
By the time their plane is airborne, Phil and Andrew will have thousands of hours into the project."The (man) hours are going to be in the neighborhood of 3,500," Phil said. "But that doesn't count sitting around talking about it — which we do a lot of."A portion of the talking focused on Andrew's senior project, which involved building the right winglet and rudder. The components were built to both men's satisfaction, documented over multiple neatly typed pages."He is very meticulous and fussy about making something exactly right," Phil said. "More so than I am."A byproduct of the joint project has been for Phil and Andrew to know each other outside of their parent-child relationship, working instead as equals.As part of the process, they observe each other's strengths and talents not always evident in other contexts."His eyes are a lot sharper than mine," Phil noted. "He can look at a bubble (in the fiberglass) that's a 32nd of an inch thick and he'll see it from six or seven feet away.""He knows a lot about making (things)," Andrew countered, explaining his father often can suggest multiple ways of completing tasks."He's a good teacher. There's a lot of stuff he knows that I don't, and he's real good at explaining that."He pays a lot of attention to detail," Andrew added. "I guess that's where I get it from."Both Andrew and Phil admit to sometimes focusing too much on being precise with details that won't deter the airplane's final quality."We both do that. We both get stuck on one thing," Andrew said, explaining each reminds the other it's time to move on."We work well together," he added."I think it's great that they can work together," Robin Kriley affirmed."It's rare that I hear raised voices — so that's a good sign."Despite the prolonged project, the Krileys say they don't view the work as monotonous — perhaps because many components have a start and finish."Once you finish and piece and see how well it turned out and see you could actually make something like this — it's just a good feeling," Andrew said."Sometimes the work can be pretty tedious. You just have to think of the final product."
This summer will mark the end of extended time the Krileys can spend together working on the Cozy.Come fall, Andrew will attend the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and major in aeronautical engineering.Because of his college pursuits, Andrew has no immediate plan to continue flying lessons with an eye on his private pilot's license.Besides, his long-term plans include becoming a Naval aviator."He's hoping he has a fighter jet to fly," Robin said when asked if father and son would later jockey for flying time in the finished Cozy.Although Phil emphatically denies credit for his son's accomplishments, he admits the exposure to planes offered a chance to define aviation as an interest."It's helped him solidify his own thoughts in what he wants to do," said Phil, 55, a systems manager for IBM."I think it's important for kids to find what they enjoy and do things that are constructive," Phil said."He never had a lot of idle time to sit around and loaf. He has always been doing something, whether it be building a tree house, riding his bike or playing golf."Without exposure to flying, Andrew said he can't imagine what direction his path would have taken."I don't know how things would have been different," he said. "I'm definitely glad I have a dad who's knowledgeable and interested in a subject like that.""He's always set a really good example," Andrew added. "So by following that example, I've done pretty well."
