Home-built aircraft to be flown at Hill show

May 25--OGDEN -- When Lynn Cook returns to his hometown, he sure knows how to do it in style.

Piloting a plane he built himself, Cook flew into Hill Air Force Base on Thursday from his home in Auburn, Calif., to participate in this year's open house and air show.

Cook was born and raised in Ogden and graduated from Weber High School in 1960. He went on to Utah State University, graduating in 1966, then began a career as an Air Force pilot in 1967.

He retired from the service in 1987 while stationed at McClellan AFB in Sacramento, Calif.

Cook's plane, a homemade aircraft manufactured by Velocity Incorporated, has been flown all over the Western U.S., including multiple trips to Utah and even a trip to Oshkosh, Wis.

The Ogden native will have one of the only "home-built" aircraft on display at this year's air show. Cook spent four years and about 2,000 hours building his fiber glass and carbon fiber plane.

"I've always had a love for airplanes, ever since I was a little kid," Cook said. "So I decided to build my own. It was quite a lot of work, but you just do a little bit every day and before you know it, you've got yourself a plane."

Cook took his first flight in the aircraft on May 17, 2005.

"I was a pilot in the Air Force for 20 years and I flew a few different planes. I even flew helicopters in Vietnam," he said. "But when you build your own, you're basically a test pilot. If you think it will fly and you have the nerve, well, then you have to get up there and prove it."

Cook said he still has family and friends living in the Top of Utah and regularly flies his plane into Ogden-Hinck- ley Airport. "I come back to Utah quite often, but coming for the air show is extra-special for me," Cook said. Cook flew his plane in and participated in Hill's last air show, held in 2009.

"They told me there was about 200,000 people at the show on each of the two days," he said.

"But with all those people, I didn't see a single person I knew. Hopefully, this year, I'll see a long-lost friend or something."

Cook said he participates in the show for his own enjoyment and to visit his hometown, but mostly to inspire young people to fly.

"Hopefully I can get some young people to feel the way I do about flying," he said. "That's what I want to do most."

The Hill air show will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Gates open at 8 a.m., and admission is free.

Copyright 2012 - Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah