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Issue link: http://amt.epubxp.com/i/216630
COVER STORY The students' work passed the FAA inspection process, and successfully completed its first flight with only minor squawks. four adults — over two weeks, it had never before built two birds simultaneously, and certainly not working with eight students. The Glasair staff assigned each student, or groups of students, to work on certain tasks each day. The students, teachers, and chaperones from the two schools intermingled easily with Glasair staff, along with myself, Jeppesen CEO Mark Van Tine, Jeppesen's Tom Letts, GAMA's Director of Engineering Greg Bowles and GAMA's Director of Safety and Training Kate Fraser. GAMA and Build A Plane own the first plane; Van Tine owns the other. The students quickly became experts at bucking rivets, fabricating both metal and composite brackets, running control cables, sanding the airframe, fabricating and attaching fuel lines, installing baffling on the engine, mounting the gear, and integrating the sensors and the propeller to the engine. As Brandon Stripling of Canby High School said near the end of the build, "It's boosted my image of airplanes and how much work has to go into making an airplane." Throughout the two weeks, the students were also treated to flights in Glasair's demo Sportsman, as well as rides from Lyn Freeman, Build A Plane's founder and president, and Steve Taylor, president of Boeing Business Jets and GAMA's vice chairman. On their day off, the teams toured local aviation highlights: Boeing's nearby Everett, WA, aircraft factory; the Museum of Flight in Seattle; and the Seattle Tacoma airport facility. Passing the tests The second week brought two big tests of the students' work: Could the aircraft they built taxi, and could they pass a rigorous FAA inspection? It turned out that their craftsmanship was of such high-quality that each plane not only taxied, one accomplished this milestone on Wednesday of the second week. And then came the FAA inspection. After checking every detail of proper paperwork, the FAA inspector invited the students to follow his very detailed and comprehensive walk-around. Upon completion, the FAA inspector was highly complimentary of the students' work, telling them it was some of the fin- 18 November/December 2013 est riveting he'd ever seen. Thursday and Friday were consumed with getting the second aircraft ready for taxi and inspection. Another major milestone occurred on Saturday, the last day of the build, when the first aircraft, piloted by Glasair's Setzer, made its first flight, coming back with only minor squawks. Sharing the story The students' experience with general aviation didn't end in Washington state. In July, Jeppesen sponsored trips so that the teams could travel to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, to show off the airplanes and share their story. They met with FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker, NTSB member Earl Weener, and Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. They were featured at press conferences for Piper Aircraft, Lycoming, Jeppesen, and Glasair Aviation, as well as at the Build A Plane Teachers' Day and the Living Legends of Aviation Kiddie Hawk exhibit. The students no doubt got a lot out of the experience. "It was incredible," said John Deslauriers of Canby High School. "It let me do something I probably never would have been able to do." But I think the experience was even more meaningful for all of the adults involved in the project. We saw firsthand what incredible young people these were, in terms of both their talent and their enthusiasm for aviation. If these students are the future of our industry, I am very encouraged and hopeful about what lies ahead. Almost all of the students said they now plan to pursue an aviation-related career, whether as an engineer, a mechanic, a pilot, or a public relations specialist. "It's going to point me in the direction that I really need to go in life," Julia Garner of Saline High School, Saline, MI, said. GAMA and its members continue to stay in touch with the students and plan to follow their careers, including setting up internships for them next summer. As Kyle LaBombarbe of Saline High School said, "I just hope they keep this going and it's not just a onetime deal." We at GAMA couldn't agree more. AMT For more information about the build, please visit GAMA's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/ Aircraft Maintenance Technology • www.AviationPros.com • www.AMTSociety.org