EAA Sport Aviation

Rookie mistake. I told him, “Slow, careful, keep
it wet, slide it on easy, ease your finger off.” Second
decal he did all that and…victory! He grew to like
the decal concept. One small victory for a boy.

But we still had the engine issue. I would have put the two engines we had on the inboard locations. He wanted to put them on the outboard locations, saying, “It’ll steer better that way.” Well, all righty then. So be it.

Trystan took his model home that evening. Bedtime is 8 p.m., but he stayed up until his dad got home at 8: 30 because, “I wanted to show my model to Dad.” That’s a concept we understand perfectly, isn’t it? Be it a model or a homebuilt airplane.

What does all this mean in relation to the totality of the universe? Not a whole lot. What does it mean to a grandchild and his grandpa? Well, to Grandpa it means offering new knowledge about old ways; to a grandchild it was probably not nearly so symbolic—it was mostly just new learning. But that’s kinda the key, isn’t it?

Same as the day before, after school
Trystan burst through the door and
asked, “Can we work on the model?”
Same answer from me, “Yup.”

We elders plant the seed—one model at a time—such that perhaps someday, somewhere, sometime, somehow, Trystan will have just enough “airplane spark” within him to go to an airport, preferably one that doesn’t have a chain-link fence around it, and experience some of the happiness that airports have given me in my life.

I’m already planning our next model projects: a Guillow’s balsa wood Aeronca Champ, like the first airplane I taught his daddy to fly, and a Learjet, like his daddy is flying now. My aim, now that Trystan has model-building skills, is to personalize the hobby.

Obviously, Trystan will find his own way in life; I just
want to make him aware of a possible path, one model
at a time. Where else are kids going to learn about avi-
ation if they don’t learn it from you and me?

Lauran Paine Jr., EAA 582274, is a retired military pilot and retired airline pilot. He built and flies an RV- 8 and has owned a Stearman and a Champ. Learn more about Lauran at his website, www.ThunderBumper.com.

We can even make an old warbird smile.

TruTrak Gemini ADI
Introducing our new Gemini ADI:
Touch screen, sunlight-readable,
simple user interface—all in a 3¹/;” cut-out.
Starting at $1,000.

SIGTRONICS AVIATION HEADSETS

Sigtronics headsets are available in monaural, stereo, and helicopter versions with straight or coiled cables. Most include a high quality bag, air foam head pad, and gel ear seals.