William 'Bud' Evans

OBITUARY
William 'Bud' Evans; Aeronautical engineer created build-your-own airplane plans
By Blanca Gonzalez
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. August 17, 2009
It was no flight of fancy when William "Bud" Evans hit upon a way to help do-it-yourselfers build their own airplanes.
As a former project and design engineer in the aeronautical industry, Mr. Evans used his expertise, ingenuity and enthusiasm to come up with design plans for a simple, one-seat wooden aircraft.
He marketed the plans for his Evans Volksplane, and thousands of enthusiasts from throughout the world have bought the designs, which he started selling in the late 1960s.
Mr. Evans died of natural causes July 30 at his La Jolla home. He was 96.
Friends and family said Mr. Evans had a spark and enthusiasm for life until his last days.
"He did everything with a laugh and good humor," said friend and neighbor Hugo Hiemstra.
"Bud was a very outgoing guy and a very clever airplane engineer. He was very inventive and always busy with a project."
Neighbor Mike Gay said Mr. Evans was articulate on many subjects, but was especially fond of talking about airplanes. "He loved the aircraft industry and was really proud of his airplane," Gay said.
Mr. Evans also served on a community committee that monitored enforcement of codes related to architecture, Gay said. "It's a thankless job, but he took that on."
Erik Larson was a kid child when he met Mr. Evans in the neighborhood.
"He was building an airplane in his garage. He was very kind and very enthusiastic, " Larson said. "He was enthusiastic about life in general, but aviation was his love. He wanted to bring the joy of flying to the masses." "I was 13 when I met him, and I was enthralled by aviation," Larson said. "I remember thinking, 'Wow, here is this adult who is as enthusiastic about it as I am,' and through the years that enthusiasm never waned. He seemed ageless. He was always interested in new things and new ideas."
The plans for the open-cockpit aircraft, which called for using a Volkswagen engine, were sold to people throughout the world including Scotland, New Zealand and Germany, said Mr. Evans' daughter-in- law, Peggy Evans.
William Samuel Evans was born March 7, 1913, in Chicago to Mary Frances Sutton and William Albert Evans. He grew up in Barrington, Ill., and attended the University of Chicago, where he studied engineering.
He moved to La Jolla in 1940 and where he met the former Margaret Barstow. His daughter-in- law said Mr. Evans told her that he saw a pretty girl in a gray hat buying a newspaper at the corner newsstand the day he arrived in La Jolla and thought he would like to marry someone like that. The next day they were introduced and they married later that year.
"He used to say, 'I have had a golden life. Everything I wanted just fell into my hands.' He had a very positive attitude toward life," Peggy Evans said.
Mr. Evans worked at Convair, Ryan and General Dynamics from 1940 until he retired in the late 1960s. He worked on programs including the B-24 bomber; the Ryan Fireball, a combination propeller and jet fighter that appeared shortly after World War II; and NASA projects.
Mr. Evans is survived by a son, Peter of Carlsbad; and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife in 2003.