EAA Sport Aviation - August 2011

High school class builds an RV- 12 HIGH-FLYING HOMEWORK

BOB KELLY, EAA 666953

EAA CHAPTER 1328 IN North Vernon, Indiana, has two Young Eagles days each year, and we have flown hundreds of kids. Getting them involved in building an airplane seemed to be the next, most logical step.

I talked with Dick VanGrunsven, founder of Van’s Aircraft, about the idea at AirVenture the first year Van’s Aircraft displayed the RV- 12 prototype. During this time, Van’s began the Teen Flight program. Following the Teen Flight blog, it was obvious that the RV- 12 was the right choice. (For more on Teen Flight, see page 110.)

Fast-forward to early September 2010. I got a call from Andy Doboze, the engineering teacher at Jennings County High School. “When do you want to start?” I asked.

“How about Tuesday?” Andy replied.

I had five Van’s practice kits and enough tools to get started, so Tuesday it was. Later on, one post on www.VansAirForce.net brought the donations necessary to buy all the tools we needed.

The empennage and tail cone kit arrived during Christmas break. The kids took the practice kits seriously, but it was nothing compared to working on the real thing. We found the Hints for Homebuilders videos on the EAA website a big help in getting up to speed. Even the mentors learned from them.

The Velocity TXL 253ktas 65% 1100lb useful load +1300nm Range

It’s Time to Fly. Fast.

A happy group of builders with a finished tail cone.

We plan to have the fuselage and wings finished by the end of summer. Some of the kids will be at AirVenture 2011, and I will share a forum with Scott McDaniels, supervisor of the Van’s Teen Flight group.

The kids? All have had their first airplane ride and are Young Eagles. Some have joined EAA and our local chapter. Five want to get their pilot certificates, and two are considering aviation-related careers. All plan to be part of the Eagle’s Nest Project during the next school year.