Dale Erhart assembled his Challenger over a period of 10 months during days off from his job flying the Airbus A330/340 between Canada and Asia. He lives on the east coast of Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley. His Challenger was built and nests in a hangar at the Courtenay Airpark. In Dale's own words:

"I currently fly the Airbus 330/340 and 340-500 for Air Canada based in Vancouver. I became involved in Radio Control and built several competitive aerobatic models. I presently have a third share in a Cessna 172 and had never built a kit plane before the Challenger."

"The building experience was incredible fun only to be eclipsed by the pleasure of flying the plane. It has performed flawlessly and is a true joy."

"My wife Laurel thoroughly enjoys the experience of flying in the back and remarks on how safe she feels as well as how incredible the visibility is on all sides."

"After 30 hours on wheels including some power-off gliding, I installed Puddlejumper amphibious floats only to discover a whole new world of flying once again. The plane was invited to the Comox International Airshow on August 7th, 2005 where it was proudly displayed for the pleasure of the attendees."

"I have flown several trips to different lakes in the first week including an overnighter which allowed me to capture some great early morning shots. Cruising down the ocean shore to pop up and drop the gear for an airport landing gives great flexibility while limiting my plane's exposure to salt."

There's a great shot of Dale's Challenger at Sproat Lake, Vancouver Island, home of the giant Mars waterbombers, in the Hotshots section of this web site.

We asked Dale and Laurel how they liked their Challenger - their response was worth a thousand words! Read West Coast Weekend in our Experience section which diarizes a weekend voyage in their Challenger on amphibs and makes thoughtful comments for others considering acquiring their own Challengers.