RESERVE — Shane  Banquer got his first taste for aviation freedom at the age of 9 when his father took him up in a plane he had built.

“Ever since then I’ve taken off with it, literally,” Banquer said.

By the time he as 16, Banquer was solo piloting.

“I did it on my birthday,” he said. “Actually 16 is the youngest you can be to fly solo with your instructor on the ground. I didn’t get my pilot’s license until I was 22 years old. I kind of waited and took a break from flying. Right now I’m 37 and I pretty much have the highest rating of certificate that you can get.”

Growing up in LaPlace, Banquer’s father housed his plane at the airport in Reserve and the two would participate in Young Eagles events.

“The events were geared towards trying to get kids interested in aviation,” he said. “You get a bunch of pilots. The kids will show up, and the pilots will take the kids up to experience flying in a smaller airplane.”

Little did he know while attending one of the Young Eagles events Banquer would see a plane he loved, leading to a desire to build his own.

“My dad told me ‘Son you’re young. You do good in school, you’ll get a job one day and you can afford a plane like that,’” Banquer said. “And that’s what I did. The plane is called a Rutan VariEze and it was designed by Burt Rutan.”

Banquer purchased a plane that was a quarter of the way done and finished his masterpiece.

“You buy the plans, which is a big packet of step-by-step instructions,” Banquer said. “When you buy the plans, you by the rights from Rutan’s company. It takes about 3,000 man hours to build the plane, but it actually took me a little longer than that.”

He first bought the uncompleted plane in 2008 and was able to fly the finished product by May of 2013.

Banquer recently showed off his Rutan VariEze at his first Sun n’ Fun Fly-in and Expo earlier this month and took home an award he wasn’t expecting to win.

“Over the course of five days there were a number of judges who would walk up to the airplane and look it over,” Banquer said. “They would call me to open it up. What they are looking for in judging an airplane is how you put your own personal touches. You have to build certain things the way they say to build them, but other things that are cosmetic more or less you put your touch on.”

Banquer said he originally didn’t plan to enter his plane in the contest but enough people came up to him and told him his plane was worth entering.

At the end of the five-day event, April 5-10, there was a banquet where awards were given out.

“My plane won grand champion, which is the highest award that you can possibly get,” he said. “When they announced that I won, I was blown away, seriously. It was my greatest accomplishment ever.”

Longtime friend and fellow pilot Chip Wale said he was proud of Banquer for winning such an award.

“It’s gratifying to see it fly,” Wale said. “He has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this plane and it’s a great example of the skill set that he has. I’m proud of him that he won; he is doing a great job. I know that he is capable of winning more.”

Wale said it’s been a learning experience for him to watch Banquer build the plane over the years.

“Shane is very detail-oriented,” Wale said. “He is very much a perfectionist, not only in his work but also in his design of his aircraft. The paint job is great, it’s probably the most beautiful plane I have ever seen.”

With aviation flowing through his veins Banquer said the best part about flying is the freedom.

“You can go wherever you want to go,” he said. “Flying for yourself, you don’t have do deal with the airlines.

“Say you want to go to lunch in Destin; you hop in the airplane, fly there to have lunch then fly home. It’s an hour away instead of a five-hour drive. Flying gives you the freedom to roam and do whatever you want.”

Banquer said you never really finish a plane because you keep trying to add to improve things.

Soon he plans to redo the interior of his Rutan VariEze, adding he wants it to feel like you’re sitting in a Lamborghini.

Born and raised in LaPlace, Banquer is a pilot for MYU Helicopters in Luling and lives in Denham Springs.