Man prepares to take flight after building two-seater plane in his back garden

A man from Mullingar is preparing to fly his self-built plane for the first time in the coming weeks. 

David Murray spent over 600 hours building his two-seater ultralight aircraft.

He had spent time looking to buy a plane-building kit online, only to discover a club roughly 45 minutes down the road from him was selling the exact one he wanted. 

David started building the plane about two and a half years ago during his spare time, as he works full-time as an engineer, he told RTÉ's Oliver Callan. 

He shared that his love of flying comes from his grandmother, who used to bring him to airshows in the 90s. 

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Unfortunately, she passed away in 2021, but would have been "the first one up" in the sky with him if she were still alive. 

Before taking off, the plane had to be built from thousands of pieces, which arrived in a massive box. 

That's when "panic set in" for David, who started to question his decision to build a plane.

During the building process, professionals come and check the progress to ensure everything is up to the correct standards. 

David says working on the plane throughout the winter was a struggle, but that there were moments of joy over the two years. 

"There are milestones throughout the build. You assemble pieces and all of a sudden it resembles an aircraft, so you have those moments of enjoyment," he shared.

David's girlfriend will be the first to fly in the aircraft with him, with the weather the only thing stopping them from taking flight at the moment. 

It's hoped that if that clears up in the coming weeks, they can go flying, which they did on their first date over five years ago. 

"A lot of people don't get to see Ireland from that perspective. It's a beautiful country, the lakes, the rivers, the mountains," David said. 

He is a member of an aircraft club, where they spend most of their time on the ground "yapping" about planes. 

"The flying itself is just good craic," David said.