Heaven Rubber Bandit

The project was originally intended to fly a Bob’s Big Boy statue across the Snake River in the same spot where Evel Knievel tried to jump the river in 1974. This was going to be a stunt for a radio station, but this project was later dropped by them. So, I decided to continue the project myself and turn it into the world’s first piloted rubber band powered plane to ROG (Rise Off Ground). It took from February of 1994 to June of 2000 to complete and have a flight ready plane.

     The plane was built at Van Nuys Airport in four different hangers and was to be flown there for the FAI record flight. First, I went to the airport management for approval to fly down the runway. I was told I needed to get FAA approval and a $3,000,000 dollar liability policy before I could ever attempt the flight. I contacted the FAA and they came to my hanger to inspect the Rubber Bandit. After their inspection they approved the plane to fly down the runway. I then contacted the insurance company for the necessary policy and in a short time I was good to go. I went back to the airport management to let them know I was able to provide what they required, and I was told they would get back to me in a week.

     Well, a week later I was told that I would not be permitted to fly at Van Nuys Airport and no reason was given for the sudden change of policy. Further devastating news came when I learned we could not procure trailers to move the plane and all the support equipment. The logistics for this plane are complicated and require extensive amounts of manpower and crew to make everything come together for a flight. Unable to proceed, I put the plane and support equipment in storage for the last 24 years. I did make a short-lived attempt in 2003 to restart the project, but life got in the way and put things on hold once again.