Helping a Fellow Rans Builder with Inventorying his Kit

Written By Beth White

Several members of our Women Build Planes team had the exciting opportunity to help our dear friend, Chris "Doyle" Doyle, inventory his newly-purchased Rans S-21 Outbound airplane kit at his super cool shop in Waterbury, VT.

Doyle, inspired after visiting our team and seeing our build, decided to embark on his own journey to construct the exact same airplane. His shop, filled with treasures from his days as a prototype engineer at Burton Snowboards and airshows, set the perfect backdrop for this exciting project. With each part uncrated, we helped organize and inventory everything to ensure a smooth start for his build.

Doyle, who has a lifelong passion for aviation, snowboarding, and motorcycles shared stories of his fascinating career path—from earning a finance and business Management degree at Syracuse to working as an apprentice aircraft mechanic for Jim Parker Airshows, and even flying his 1947 Luscombe across America. Now at BETA Technologies, Doyle is known for solving complex problems in the BETA "garage," drawing from his varied background and his passion for hands-on work.

To say that it was fun being the experts in the room when it came to inventorying and organizing the Rans S-21 kit and to help launch Doyle’s build is an understatement. The Women Build Planes team is excited to support him and follow his progress as he dives into the project.

Beth White

Education Possibilitarian, Artist, Writer, Doula, Mentor, Aviatrix, Breast Cancer Survivor, Pilot-in-Command at Habitat for Aviation


In the spring of 2022, Beth White emerged from a 10-month battle with breast cancer with an idea: to create an apprenticeship program at Franklin County State Airport where youth work alongside adult mentors servicing conventional and electric aircraft. A pilot and airplane mechanic apprentice herself, and with family roots in the trades, Habitat for Aviation provides an taxilane for world learning opportunities for youth and adults who love to work with their hands to enter the FAA’s apprenticeship certification track. Each day she puts systems in place that make real John Dewey’s philosophy that we “learn best what we live” – a deep throughline from her time at Antioch University New England and as Regional Director for Big Picture Learning. Each learning experience is grounded in relationships, relevance, and practice. In October, 2023, Habitat for Aviation launched its Women Build Planes program, where an all-female team of Modern Day Rosies is building an airplane at Franklin County Airport, in northwestern Vermont, to show folks everywhere that despite the fact that only 2.6% of airplane mechanics are female, women BUILD, FLY, and FIX airplanes.

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