Former Johnstowner builds his own plane

Local News

Discussion

July 21, 2008

By ALEX RICE The Tribune-Democrat Mon Jul 21, 2008, 10:15 PM EDT

MONTE VISTA, Colo. — Ever since he was a small child in Johnstown, physician assistant Capt. Jack Bilak has loved airplanes.

Bilak, who served as a flight medic in the Vietnam War, recently put the finishing touches on The Anneliese Mae Browning, an airplane that took almost seven years to build.

“I figured it would be done in three years, not 61/2,” said Bilak, who began the project in October 2001. “Medical school was much shorter.”

And it’s not like Bilak took prolonged breaks here and there.

No, he worked on Anneliese, named for his late granddaughter, almost every day for 81 months at his Del Norte, Colo., home and at the Monte Vista Airport.

When it came to the fuselage, the body of the plane, it took Bilak two weeks just to inventory the pieces.

“One of my goals was that I wanted the plane to look like it came out of a factory, and not a garage,” Bilak said of the plane that needed 14,000 rivets to be pieced together.

Anneliese, which will have a top air speed of 230 mph, will be examined by a federal inspector in the coming weeks. If all goes as planned, Bilak then will have his airworthiness license, meaning he can fly the plane.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Mild winter speeds work: Entertainment venue may be complete by end of May
An unusually mild winter has accelerated construction of a new outdoor entertainment venue in Johnstown.

February 9, 2012 2 Photos
Man jailed on rash of charges
A Patton man is being held on $100,000 bond after police said he threatened to kill a woman, her family and himself unless she talked to him about a protection-from-abuse order.

February 9, 2012 2 Photos
Cambria abolishes 16 jobs
Following through on promises to cut budget costs, the Cambria County commissioners voted Thursday to abolish 16 positions, including nine full-time jobs.

February 9, 2012
Blogging with heart
Anyone else have this issue: The more I know, the more I want to learn.
As I am writing my heart month stories for this week’s packages, I occasionally come across a term or description unfamiliar to me. So I look it up. And then the definition or article has something else that sounds important, so I look that up.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Wozniak defends his support of drilling bill
State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, one of only seven Democrats to support the Marcellus Shale legislation adopted this week, said the bill protects the environment and provides help to local communities impacted by the natural gas drilling.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Businessman hoping to unseat Wozniak
Tim Houser uses two words – “challenging opportunity” – to describe his goal in this year’s elections.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Judge tosses evidence in robbery
A Cambria County prosecutor said he’ll have to drop robbery charges against a Twin Rocks woman after much of his evidence was suppressed by a judge.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Shooting defendant pleads to attempted murder
A Philadelphia man pleaded guilty Thursday in county court to attempted murder and theft in a Nov. 18 home invasion in which the homeowner was shot.

February 9, 2012
Garrett man sought in Somerset crime
An arrest warrant has been issued for Samuel McFarland Jr., 33, of Berlin Street in Garrett in connection with Saturday’s robbery of two boys outside Dollar General on East Main Street in Somerset.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
City man shot during alleged burglary
A Johnstown man was shot during a burglary attempt in Indiana County and then burglarized a home in Armstrong County before he was arrested, authorities said Thursday.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

Former Johnstowner builds his own plane

Do you support Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget for fiscal year 2012-13?

Contact Us