About Cannibal Aviation

Hey — I'm Brady.

I grew up eating chicken nuggets on the hood of my dad's truck, watching GA aircraft come and go at the local airport. Top Gun played in our house like a religious movie.

Our family's obsession started with my dad working as an A&P through the aviation boom of the '70s into the '80s. He always said that once aviation gets into your blood, there's no going back.

When I went to join the military at 17, he told me the only way I would get his signature was if I picked something that would get me somewhere in life. I asked him what to look for. He said aviation. I've never looked back.

I ended up 15Y in the Army — armament, avionics, and electrical systems repair on Apaches. My company was D Co, the Cannibals. So the brand name carries two meanings — the unit, and what maintainers do when parts run short. When we couldn't get parts for the bird that needed to fly, we cannibalized them off the bird that wasn't airworthy. Cannibalizing. Ugly word, works fine.

That's about the whole philosophy — get the job done with what you have. I started a Bearhawk build last year. Multi-year project, still in the early stages. My goal is to document it as I go — the wins, the do-overs, the parts I ordered three times.

On the design side, I'm working on two kit airplanes — the Cannibal S, a garage-buildable LSA a first-time builder can finish with basic tools, and the Cannibal X, an experimental with a Corvair conversion. Both are in development. Both will be documented builds you can follow.

That's the real deal. Like all things in aviation, building isn't cheap. Every purchase helps to fund the build. Every video I post will have something that I learned the hard way. We, as aviators, are blessed to be able to gain the experiences through building, and I want to show the true side. Budget tooling, old school techniques, trial and error, and basic skills.

If you're a pilot, a builder, a student, or somebody who loves one — glad you found us.

Fly what you built.

— Brady