Maurice Tito Gachamba is one of the pioneers in the field of aviation and aeronautical engineering.
Gachamba, who dropped out of school due to family struggles, built his own plane from scratch and ferried it to an airstrip before flying it.
He was said to have only observed a friend's plane and mastered the expertise and techniques used to assemble it. Gachamba never enrolled on any aeronautical engineering courses as the majority of pilots have.
The Class Two dropout used an 850cc scooter engine and scrap metal to build the fixed-wing plane. It reportedly took him three years to construct the plane's body using scrap metal and canvas.
Gachamba, after spending three years building and rebuilding the plane, was convinced it was the right time to conduct a test flight.
In 1969, he flew his plane from Nyaribo Airstrip across the Kenya Police College in Kiganjo.
"I was determined to fly...I towed the aircraft to Nyaribo airstrip using a motorcycle, and I cruised well on the runway until the engine was ready to fly," he stated in a previous interview with the Standard.
He wanted to fly to Karatina Town, but during the test flight, the plane's engine started overheating, which forced him to turn back. Although Gachamba was tensed, he was cheered by cops at Kiganjo, which rejuvenated him.
"I managed to turn back towards Nyaribo (airstrip) after flying for about nine miles. It was a frightening ordeal, and I was shaking. I was convinced I would die and even vowed never to repeat it again," Gachamba stated.
However, his few minutes of fame turned tragic after the plane's wing hit some trees near the Nyaribo airstrip, lost balance and crashed.
The accident ruined his ambitions to continue building planes as he sustained critical injuries.
Gachamba shifted from building and flying planes to making automobiles. One of his projects then was making a five-passenger vehicle resembling a Volkswagen Beetle.
"After the aeroplane project, I decided to make this vehicle. I started it in 1969, and I am now in the final stages. Very soon it will hit the road," he stated.
In 2018, he opened his garage to the public, taking automobile enthusiasts on a tour of his work.
