I am an African American. By that I mean I was born in South Africa and became a naturalized citizen in 2010 after living in England for six years between 1975 and 1981, and Canada from 1981 until 2006.
I am currently “retired”, having spent my career as a tech entrepreneur, software. After serving in the South African army for a year, I spent a brief stint as an apprentice motor mechanic, a slighter longer stint as a watch stander on a North Sea oil rig, a longer still period as an electronics technician for NCR corporation and six years in various managerial positions at Tandy Corporation (U.K.) and Radio Shack (Canada).
I took piano lessons for about six months when I was 7 or 8 and took to playing guitar and bass at the age of 15. I played in my first band at the age of 16 and spent 30 years or so playing bass and guitar in worship teams in Canada and the United States in addition to doing solo gigs, hosting open mic nights and playing in various bands. Now at the age of 70, 2024, I continue to perform in local restaurants, mostly solo gigs, and continue to take classical piano lessons. I have been writing songs since I was 15. I am gradually building a web site where I post various band information and original tunes and lyrics, plus my scheduled events.
In addition to being “retired”, and moving to middle Tennessee with my wife, I am now an orchardist with over 700 fruit trees. 50 nectarines, 50 apricots and 30 apple trees, the remainder being peaches. We have a web site for Hallelujah Orchard. It is a pick-your-own orchard and you can subscribe on our web site for updates on opening times and fruit availability.
I have been interested in aircraft all my life, reading one of my dad’s Pratt and Whitney training / maintenance books by the time I was 12. He had spent World War II as an A&P, mainly powerplants, in North Africa and Italy. I think that is where I got my love of all things aviation.
In the mid 1990s, I think 1995, I went to Sun-N-Fun in Lakeland, Florida, for the first time and the following year to Oshkosh. It was at that point that I discovered I could realistically build my own airplane and made the decision to do so.
My time now is divided between practicing the piano in the mornings and working on airplane builds in the afternoons. These efforts are only interrupted during the spring and summer when the orchard requires primary attention.
At this time in my life I, apart from my daily activities, I am primarily concerned with where my family and friends are going to spend eternity, in heaven or in hell. If you are reading this and don’t know where you are going to spend eternity I urge you to find out. Time is short and there are plenty of resources available.
Thank you for visiting my experimental amateur built web site.
God bless.
Robert Heller