Once upon a time, a person could put together an airplane in their barn, roll it out to a field and fly it. This worked pretty well for a few years, considering that our country was a lot of open space and small towns, and there weren't that many planes flying overhead. Cars were rare, airplanes were cause for considerable excitement. Occasionally one of these air-ships would fall out of the sky, maybe injure a pilot - rarely do some damage on the ground. Human society being what it is, eventually the government stepped in to regulate this new activity.
Today, the construction and operation of airplanes is regulated by the FAA. Fortunately for me, in the US and elsewhere in the world, there are provisions for building our own planes. These planes are called Experimental, and the rules for building them are based on the idea that the construction must be an educational process, separate from the commercial builders. In order to fly this plane, you need at minimum a Private Pilots License (PPL). Many of these planes have been built, and some have capabilities that exceed commercially available planes, hence the PPL requirement.
In recent years another class of planes has been created, Light Sport Aviation (LSA), with limitations on weight and speed. In addition, pilots require only a Sport Plane Certification (easier to get than a Private Pilot License) and either a 3rd class medical or a valid drivers license (unless you have recently been refused a FAA medical). To address the high costs of buying one of these LSA planes (Often costing in excess of $100K, kits (like the Vans RV-12) are now available that allow you to constructs the plane yourself, from a collection of parts and instructions. A community of builders has grown up, and many of these planes are now flying. This is how I'd like to build and fly an airplane. This is my destiny!
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