Students Complete 2 Weeks to Taxi

Two groups of high school students have just completed the Two Weeks to Taxi program at the Glasair factory on time. The students built two examples of the Glasair Sportsman and watched as each one was fired up, taxied, and then flown on its maiden test flight. It was the first time any of the teenagers had been involved in building airplanes. 

 

“It was a remarkable experience for everyone involved,” says Peter Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Bunce worked side by side with the students for the two weeks. “The kids were focused, hard-working and enthusiastic. They were involved in every aspect of the build, and mastered tasks such as bucking rivets, installing windows, connecting the panel, wiring the engine and linking the controls. There was no part of it they couldn’t handle. It was a challenge keeping up with them.” 

 

The program was co-sponsored by Build A Plane, an IRS-approved 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization working in formal partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration and many other organizations to promote aviation and aerospace education.

 

The two girls and six boys came from high schools in Michigan and Minnesota. To be selected for the program, the teams had to submit an aircraft design to a panel of judges selected by GAMA. As winners, they were flown to Seattle and housed in a motel for the two weeks. The children and their chaperones were treated to side trips to the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Wash., a flightline ramp tour at SeaTac airport, and the Seattle Museum of Flight. 

 

The plan is to complete the Phase One flight-testing and then fly the two Sportsmen to Oshkosh, Wis. where the students will be reunited with both planes at EAA’s AirVenture in July.