AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - May 2013 - 59

AOPA AV8RS

The association’s offer for youth

Malcomb recently fulfilled a
personal goal by soloing on his sixteenth birthday in the airplane he
had helped build. And Huddleston
said the kids’ familiarity with the
aircraft aids their flight training.
“The kids have a great depth of
mechanical knowledge about the
airplane, so they show me things
on the preflight inspections,” he
said. “They have no apprehension,
and they’re easy to teach because
they haven’t learned a bunch of
bad habits from driving cars yet.”
Malcomb—whose father, Jeff,
is an airline pilot, and grandfather, Howard, is a GA flier—grew
up around airplanes and soloed in
the RV–12 with less than 10 hours
of dual instruction. On a blustery
winter day, the RV–12’s nosewheel
seemed glued to the centerline as
he practiced takeoffs and landings.
When another pilot asked whether
the 15-knot northwest wind was
intimidating, Malcomb dismissed
it as “no big deal.”
“It’s right down the centerline,”
the self-assured student pilot said.
The RV–12 insurance policy allows up to four students
to train at the same time, and
juniors Justin Wooton and Elijah
Morris are set to begin next. The
two friends joke about the seating adjustments they’ll have to
make: Wooton is about five feet

six inches tall, and Morris is well over
six feet.
Their motivations are different, too.
Wooton says he gets the greatest joy from
building while Morris is drawn to flying.
“I’m a builder now,” Morris says, “but
I’m going to be a flier soon, and I can’t wait.”
Kelly estimates 100 high school kids
have been involved in Eagle’s Nest projects,
and about 25 percent of them are likely to
pursue flight training. But whether they
become pilots or not, Kelly said the young
participants are gaining a lifelong appreciation for aviation as they develop skills,
confidence, and teamwork that they can
apply to all their endeavors.
On a recent Thursday night, six Eagle’s
Nest kids worked continuously for four
hours on their next airplane. There were no
iPods in their ears, no cell phone conversations, or texting—just riveting, sanding,
measuring, and fitting. And, of course, lots
of laughter.
At about 7 p.m. they put their tools away,
turn off the space heaters, and take stock.
“It’s been a good night,” said Porter,
who plans to attend Southern Illinois
University next year and study aviation
maintenance. “The seatbacks are done, the
instrument panel and electrical shelf are
taking shape, and some of the fuel lines are
in. Lots of little stuff—but one of the things
you learn building an airplane is that big
things are really just lots of little things put
together.”
AOPA
EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

The seekers, the adventurers, the
bold have always known it. It’s
time to let the next generation
in on the secret—aviation is for
everyone! AOPA AV8RS, AOPA’s
new youth membership is free
for teens 13 to 18 years old.
AOPA AV8RS membership
includes the following membership benefits:
A welcome packet, including
an AOPA AV8RS membership
card
A digital subscription to Flight
Training magazine
Member-only access to www.
aopa.org and flighttraining.aopa.
org for exciting stories, informative articles, cutting-edge
research, and much more
Toll-free AOPA Pilot
Information Center help line at
1-800-USA-AOPA where AOPA’s
aviation specialists are available
to answer any questions about
learning to fly and more
Free access to MyFlight
Training, an online flight training
support system for student
pilots that rewards them for
each training milestone
accomplished
Opportunities to connect with
other AOPA AV8RS across the
country through dedicated
online social communities including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter,
and tumblr
Access to a dedicated blog
written by teens for teens
Interesting content on all
things aviation at www.aopa.org/
av8rs
Chances to win flight training
scholarships
And a special gift—an official
AOPA AV8RS sling bag.

ROSS PORTER (above left) wasn’t

sure he could lead fellow students,
but he successfully managed the
Eagle’s Nest One project, is helping build a second RV–12,
and intends to study avionics
technology at college. The second
airplane (far left) is taking shape
in the same Spartan hangar where
the first one was built.
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 59
http://www.aopa.org http://www.aopa.org http://flighttraining.aopa.org http://flighttraining.aopa.org http://www.aopa.org/av8ers http://www.aopa.org/av8ers http://www.aopa.org/pilot
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - May 2013
