Group Project - A Suggestion…

For several years now, we have been asking ourselves how, as an EAA Chapter, could we have a Chapter club house, or hangar, or a Chapter project, etc. Given the financial resources, or lack thereof, we haven't made any progress in this direction. At a recent Directors' meeting, we decided the only practical way to get something going would be to initiate a group "aircraft" project.

The prime rationale for such a project is to encourage anyone interested in a construction and flying project to realize their dreams, even though they would otherwise not take on such an endeavour on their own.. Participants can share the experience, the construction time, the cost, and skills/knowledge, etc. after working out a partnership agreement with other interested individuals. Given the vast resource base within the Chapter, the project team will be able to find the advice and skills necessary to complete a home-built aircraft. At our last monthly meeting, we presented this idea and also suggested the possibility of acquiring Jack Geall's Zenith CH-200 project, which is very well advanced towards completion, so it would not take too long to complete. Of course, any other project would be equally appropriate in achieving the purpose, and we expect there will be other semi-finished projects available for consideration.
Many home-builders have partnered with one or more people to share the construction time and cost while benefiting from the social aspect of our hobby. Group members often bring complementary skills to the table, which makes the technical challenges easier so it becomes a valuable learning experience for everyone.

To date, seven Chapter members have expressed varying degrees of interest in participating, and we expect others will show interest as the idea takes shape. To that end, we are prepared to bring together everyone wishing to consider participation in such a project and to start the process of defining a group mission to guide the selection of a project. For example, the group would have to agree on the ultimate purpose of the aircraft; cross-country vs. local flight, two-place vs. four, etc. We will also help the group work out a partnership agreement to ensure everyone's interests are addressed.

You can see the slides presented at our March monthly meeting at our Chapter 266 Website under "Possible Group Project".

If you are at all interested in participating, or just think you might, please email Dave Cyr or call 514-762-3340.