The Pilot - Rich Beardsley

I started flying gliders in 1977 and became a glider instructor and on to power aircraft. I finished my ATP rating in 1979 and started flying for the airlines and have been flying since, with about 20,000 hours of flying time. I have about 300 hours in the Smith.

The Plane N774RB

I've owned this Smith Mini-plane since 1997 and it has been highly modified since I first brought it, in pieces, from Neal Goodfriend. The original "plans built" plane started life with a 290 cu.in. Lycoming engine. The fuselage was lengthened a foot, thus it is different from the stock plans.