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EAA Board of Directors 2005 Platform

Jim Weir, EAA 86698


1. I bring to this Board the experience of 3000+ flight and flight
instruction hours, restoring 3 classic aircraft from spinner to tailfeathers
as an A&P, IA, the founder and chief engineer of a 35 year old avionics
company dedicated to owner-built homebuilt aircraft electronics, and eight
years on the county elected board with the responsibility for a $100 million
budget, 800 employees, and 1000 square miles of land mass.


2. If I have a particular focus and passion, it is education. I note with
interest that EAA has established three entry-level education programs:

a. The Young Eagles program and website
b. EAA Air Academy
c. Aeroscholars.

i. One of the problems I note with these three programs is that they are
all reactive. That is, it requires effort on the part of the participant to
become involved. My thought would be to have a passive program geared to
the K-8 system that would involve aviation materials integrated into the
basic curriculum. That is, we all remember reading about John and Jane
going to visit their uncle in the country. How did they get there? Drive,
of course. Thus, the student grows up believing that automobiles are the
natural way to travel. Or bus. Or train. Never once did the concept of
flying in a light aircraft enter the elementary school curriculum. Once you
"grab" a young student and have them "grow up" with the thought that
aircraft is a natural way to travel you have a built-in candidate for their
Young Eagle and Air Academy years.

ii. Of course, this naturally folds into making aneroid barometers /
altimeters in science class, papier-mâché airport dioramas in art class,
weight and balance in mathematics class, and all the rest of it. One of the
problems I foresee with this program is that elementary school teachers
expect a fully-fledged curriculum-in-a-box that can be used with minimal
effort. Part of the true work setting up this program is to understand what
the needs of the faculty are and to meet or exceed them. I note with
approval the Fox Valley program, but also observe that this effort is
enjoyed by a very few (1600) students.

iii. I also note with some regret that both the Air Academy and
Aeroscholars are geared towards the privileged students who can afford to
pay for the program. While local chapters certainly can sponsor a
student(s) at both of these programs, I would suggest that a nationally
sponsored scholarship plan for both programs would allow disadvantaged
students with the "fire in their belly" for aviation to participate and
bring new blood into the aviation gene pool. (Yes, I am aware of the named
scholarships and internship program, but these programs are not well
advertised at all.)


3. Another deeply held interest is aircraft electronics, both historical
and modern. After all, avionics has been both my profession and my
avocation for nearly half a century. The museum has a smattering of
historical avionics, but nothing focused. I would propose that we find an
unused corner of the museum for some working, hands-on aviation electronics
and instrumentation that the museum visitor can touch, smell, and feel.


4. Last, but certainly not least, is my desire to have all segments of
aviation represented within the EAA umbrella. Certainly there is room
inside the EAA tent for anybody who has an enthusiasm for aviation to find
their niche in the organization. In the words of Lyndon Johnson, "I'd
rather have them all inside the tent spitting out than outside the tent
spitting in."



Thank you for your time and trouble.

Jim,

Here at Spruce Creek, we have a program called Wright Flight, at the
Middle School level. See http://WrightFlight.org/

It was started as a part of the Air Force Assn. and teaches individual
responsibility and leadership, using an aviation theme. It used examples
of famous aviators, from the Wrights, to Jimmy Doolittle, to the
astronauts to help mentor students. If a student raises his GPA (or, in
the case of honor students -- maintains his GPA) he/she gets an airplane
ride as a reward. Here, they get some exotic planes to fly in, so it is
really a reward.

We have combined the flight rewards portion of the program with EAA
Young Eagles, which is a win for all concerned. EAA National is aware of
this synergy, so it is not a new concept to them.

Good luck!

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