This is inspirational...
One of our local EAA chapter members (and HBA participant) is one of our instructors at our weekly Zenith build program. He brings his kids with him, and the kids are enthusiastic participants, often mentoring the other kids because they already helped build most of another Zenith.
Our chapter's chief mouthpiece-publicist-fundraiser (guess who...) managed to get a CGS Hawk ultralight airframe project donated to the chapter. We took it in to sell or trade for stuff we can use on the Zenith, figuring the Hawk airframe was worth a grand or two. That would get us the tail kit, or a radio, or a G5 or something.
One of the instructor's sons instantly took a liking to the Hawk, the very second it rolled in on the donor's trailer. He sat in it, wiggled the stick, and began asking seven thousand questions about it. He asked if he could ever fly it, what it took, and what it needed. I rolled my eyes, knowing that the Hawk was not going to be with us for long; my job was to turn it into money... yesterday.
I got a call from the young man the other night, asking how much we would sell it to him for. I said that we might sell it to him, but it needed a bunch of work, repair, an engine, etc. But sure... we'd sell it to him at a good price because he's a chapter member and he's helping on the chapter Zenith project.
He said he had a plan. He had already saved some of the money, and if we could let him pay the rest off later then he'd have money to get some training in a glider... because he had heard all of us talking about how important glider training is, even if you didn't need a license to fly an ultralight. Then, he said, after the airframe was fixed, and he had gotten some instruction, he'd start saving money toward an engine.... and what kind of engine would it have to be???
Then, in a delightful burst of cleverness and with an evil Grinch-like smile, the chapter's chief promoter realized... what if the chapter let this young man go out and raise money in the community for the Zenith project, and for every dollar he raised for the Zenith he'd get a dollar credit toward what he owed the chapter for buying the Hawk? We'd be helping the Zenith project AND helping move one of our newer chapter members toward aircraft ownership, and it would inspire a whole lot of people.
So what's the most inspirational part? The world's newest aircraft owner, flight training planner, and aircraft repair/restoration project planner... turns 11 tomorrow.
One of our local EAA chapter members (and HBA participant) is one of our instructors at our weekly Zenith build program. He brings his kids with him, and the kids are enthusiastic participants, often mentoring the other kids because they already helped build most of another Zenith.
Our chapter's chief mouthpiece-publicist-fundraiser (guess who...) managed to get a CGS Hawk ultralight airframe project donated to the chapter. We took it in to sell or trade for stuff we can use on the Zenith, figuring the Hawk airframe was worth a grand or two. That would get us the tail kit, or a radio, or a G5 or something.
One of the instructor's sons instantly took a liking to the Hawk, the very second it rolled in on the donor's trailer. He sat in it, wiggled the stick, and began asking seven thousand questions about it. He asked if he could ever fly it, what it took, and what it needed. I rolled my eyes, knowing that the Hawk was not going to be with us for long; my job was to turn it into money... yesterday.
I got a call from the young man the other night, asking how much we would sell it to him for. I said that we might sell it to him, but it needed a bunch of work, repair, an engine, etc. But sure... we'd sell it to him at a good price because he's a chapter member and he's helping on the chapter Zenith project.
He said he had a plan. He had already saved some of the money, and if we could let him pay the rest off later then he'd have money to get some training in a glider... because he had heard all of us talking about how important glider training is, even if you didn't need a license to fly an ultralight. Then, he said, after the airframe was fixed, and he had gotten some instruction, he'd start saving money toward an engine.... and what kind of engine would it have to be???
Then, in a delightful burst of cleverness and with an evil Grinch-like smile, the chapter's chief promoter realized... what if the chapter let this young man go out and raise money in the community for the Zenith project, and for every dollar he raised for the Zenith he'd get a dollar credit toward what he owed the chapter for buying the Hawk? We'd be helping the Zenith project AND helping move one of our newer chapter members toward aircraft ownership, and it would inspire a whole lot of people.
So what's the most inspirational part? The world's newest aircraft owner, flight training planner, and aircraft repair/restoration project planner... turns 11 tomorrow.
