Flying Dutchmen Twins

Building the
Long EZ

1980, Jan is building his first airplane, a ‘plans-built’ (Burt Rutan design) which is a 200 mile/hr, canard pusher, swept wing called the Long-EZ. It took Jan two years to build the plane in his backyard. The TV show, "Two on the Town" filmed a segment at Jan's home in Venice, CA. The segment nicknamed them "the Flying Dutchmen", and showcased the twins working on the plane.

Upon its completion, the plane was loaded on a flat bed truck on route to Mojave Desert and parked at Burt Rutan’s factory. (Burt is the recipient of 2 Collier Awards & most notably, the designer of the Voyageur and SpaceShip One). Before its virgin flight, Burt and Mike Melville checked out the plane. (The plane was tested in the Mojave desert by Mike Melville, the first civilian astronaut, who was the test pilot for Spaceship one, that won the XPrize). Mike puts his parachute on, and takes it out for its first flight. The plane performed flawlessly.

And so began 14 years of heavenly bliss in the skies…..The adventures of the Flying Dutchmen had begun - discovering America in a home-built airplane - barnstorming across the country, flying low over a small town in Texas or Alaska, and landing nearby for the evening, pitching a tent under the wing, and greeting the local folks. The plane was finally sold after 14 years of glorious flying.