Brian Jackson
11-04-2004, 04:14 PM
Short bio:
I was born in South Bend, Indiana in April 1965. Moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1980 where I went to high school and lived for several years until 1992, when I moved to Niles, Michigan. Married, no kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and multiple personalities :D .
Run a business called RotoPix (http://www.rotopix.com) doing aerial virtual reality photography, using a technique and rig I invented in 1999. I currently work for Whirlpool Corporation's new Visualization Lab doing 3D CAD modeling and concept renderings of new products and environments.
I became interested in aviation when I was 5, after my first jetliner flight to visit my father in New York. He's a well known entertainer (http://www.tommyjames.com) and has been an inspiration in my life, though he doesn't share my passion for flying, which began several years ago with the construction of a Mini-Max kit in a 2'nd story apartment bedroom! I'd been building balsa model airplanes since I can remember, but the joy of building the real thing was intoxicating.
Ironically, the Mini-Max construction slowly took a back seat to a business I'd started to help other builders save time... go figure. I designed and manufactured full-scale mylar templates of the entire plane, as well as it's other incarnations and model numbers. Just roll them out and start building right on top of them. I called them FlyPaper and was selling a ton of them. But as time went on I was working 24 hour shifts producing them and getting other templates designed and illustrated, while my Mini-Max project sat there. The workload took it's toll on me and I suffered kind of a "breakdown." I went to California to disappear for several weeks. When I returned I closed the business and sold my 2/3 built plane.
That was about 7 years ago.
My first passion however was, and still is, Gyros. I just LOVE those tube-sandwiches! :D I attended my first PRA convention in Brookville, Ohio in '91 where I went for 2 rides with Ed Alderfer. I was hooked. But money and circumstances never afforded me the luxury to pursue the dream of building one of my own. I started the Mini-Max as a "substitute" because there were many other Max builders in my immediate area, so support was always there. But as time went on and my hair got grayer I decided enough is enough. I'm just gonna f**king do it regardless of how "practical" the wife and family think it is.
I'm currently the proud owner of a roomfull of aluminum, mildly resembling gyroplane parts. My goal over the next year is to "build the perfect Bee"... But if I get somewhere close I'll be pretty happy; There's some really good builders here. Hanging out on this forum has taught me a lot.
Well, that's a little about me, for whomever's bored enough to have made it this far in my bio.
Oh yeah, and I'm right-handed. I also have these genital sores that keep... nevermind.
Respectfully,
Brian Jackson
I was born in South Bend, Indiana in April 1965. Moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1980 where I went to high school and lived for several years until 1992, when I moved to Niles, Michigan. Married, no kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and multiple personalities :D .
Run a business called RotoPix (http://www.rotopix.com) doing aerial virtual reality photography, using a technique and rig I invented in 1999. I currently work for Whirlpool Corporation's new Visualization Lab doing 3D CAD modeling and concept renderings of new products and environments.
I became interested in aviation when I was 5, after my first jetliner flight to visit my father in New York. He's a well known entertainer (http://www.tommyjames.com) and has been an inspiration in my life, though he doesn't share my passion for flying, which began several years ago with the construction of a Mini-Max kit in a 2'nd story apartment bedroom! I'd been building balsa model airplanes since I can remember, but the joy of building the real thing was intoxicating.
Ironically, the Mini-Max construction slowly took a back seat to a business I'd started to help other builders save time... go figure. I designed and manufactured full-scale mylar templates of the entire plane, as well as it's other incarnations and model numbers. Just roll them out and start building right on top of them. I called them FlyPaper and was selling a ton of them. But as time went on I was working 24 hour shifts producing them and getting other templates designed and illustrated, while my Mini-Max project sat there. The workload took it's toll on me and I suffered kind of a "breakdown." I went to California to disappear for several weeks. When I returned I closed the business and sold my 2/3 built plane.
That was about 7 years ago.
My first passion however was, and still is, Gyros. I just LOVE those tube-sandwiches! :D I attended my first PRA convention in Brookville, Ohio in '91 where I went for 2 rides with Ed Alderfer. I was hooked. But money and circumstances never afforded me the luxury to pursue the dream of building one of my own. I started the Mini-Max as a "substitute" because there were many other Max builders in my immediate area, so support was always there. But as time went on and my hair got grayer I decided enough is enough. I'm just gonna f**king do it regardless of how "practical" the wife and family think it is.
I'm currently the proud owner of a roomfull of aluminum, mildly resembling gyroplane parts. My goal over the next year is to "build the perfect Bee"... But if I get somewhere close I'll be pretty happy; There's some really good builders here. Hanging out on this forum has taught me a lot.
Well, that's a little about me, for whomever's bored enough to have made it this far in my bio.
Oh yeah, and I'm right-handed. I also have these genital sores that keep... nevermind.
Respectfully,
Brian Jackson