Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/96284
Hangar Debrief About Your Homebuilt Aircraft Council What we do By Rick Weiss Dateline Oshkosh, Wisconsin: It's Saturday, November 17; a brisk 32 degrees at 4:30 a.m.; foggy (RVR-500), there's ice on the car and I'm whining, as only a freezing guy from Florida can do. I think back to the old days when our fight attendants used to ask, "What's the difference between the jet engines and the pilot? Answer: When you park at the gate and the engines are shut down, they stop whining." Okay, I get it, but darn it's cold. In my Kitfox, I can whine all day with no grief from anyone, and I don't need to get up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight home. I mention all of this only to let you know why EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is held in July. Yes, another AirVenture is well behind us, but the work of your Homebuilt Aircraft Council (HAC) continues throughout the year, and this past week we were in Oshkosh. I'd like to talk about what the HAC does, but before I do that, 46 NO. 4/ DECEMBE R 2012 it may be best to explain what the HAC is, as I'm guessing many of you probably have never heard of us. Here's some background. In 1999, EAA President Tom Poberezny and Executive Vice President Bob Warner thought it would be a good idea if the aircraft builders in EAA could help the staff better understand the issues and priorities they face as they build and fly their aircraft, as well as letting the staff explain what they were doing to preserve and protect our freedoms to build and fly. A few EAA members were selected and they formed the first council. The group evolved over the years, and the chairman of the HAC was invited to serve on the EAA Board of Directors to represent the members at the highest level of the organization. Fast-forward to 2009. The HAC placed a notice in Sport Aviation asking for members who were interested in volunteering to be on the council to self-nominate themselves. Photography by Brady Lane