Couple plan to see the world in home-built aircraft

Sun Sentinel (MCT) - Imagine riding from Palm Beach County, Fla., to Orlando, Fla., in an MG Midget or a Mazda Miata _ eating, using a laptop and, maybe, wanting to use the bathroom all at once.

That's what it will be like for a German couple who left Lantana, Fla., airport Monday on a three-year world trek in a tiny homemade aircraft.

"Every small space is used," said Detlef Heun, who along with his fiancee, Liliana Tagliamonte, headed for the Bahamas in the RV-7 airplane they bought in 2005 and built from a kit over three years. "We're sitting here on our clothes and sleeping bags. There's not much room for anything else. We can only carry 200 pounds."

For the next 12 months, they will literally hop from airstrip to airstrip along several Caribbean islands, then down to Brazil. They plan to do some skiing in Antarctica before heading back to Lantana.

Then they'll continue the second leg of their tour, heading north.

They plan to marry in the Bahamas and _ except for hurricanes, monsoons and typhoons _ they are not rushed for time.

The idea of the world tour was born five years ago. They have received some sponsorships but the trip is funded largely from their pockets.

Heun, 50, who owned an auto parts store and body shop in Germany for 20 years, wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream. He began flying at 14 and has earned several ratings including flight instructor and has worked as a commercial pilot.

To Tagliamonte, who recently earned her pilot's license, the tour provides an opportunity to sharpen her flying skills, meet people in different cultures and discover new things.

"There are lot of new things to see and you never know if they will be good or bad surprises," said Tagliamonte, who completed four Atlantic crossings in a sailing yacht. "It's a lot of unknown for us."

To save money, they made arrangements to stay in people's homes. They also brought along tents and a small stove for cooking.

The prelude to the trip was not without snags. Heun bought the kit plane from a Lakeland, Fla., company, which shipped it to their home in Germany. But when they wanted to add two additional fuel tanks, they were not allowed to do so under German law. They disassembled the plane and shipped it back to Punta Gorda, Fla., about a year ago, where the alterations were done.

Then they had trouble finding a company to insure the craft. Eventually they found an agency in Europe, Heun said.

They have met several people who claimed to have circled the world, Heun said. But most of them visited large cities and did not get to experience a slice of life in so many countries.

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At the trip's end, the couple hopes they will have seen the world and met lots of people.

"It's one thing to jump from one international airport to another, (but we're) landing at the smaller airstrips and spending time in the communities, Heun said. "All you know are the fuel station and the customs personnel at the (international airports). You can't get to know anything about the people and their cultures."

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© 2009, Sun Sentinel.