High School Students Build Two Glasair Sportsman Aircraft in Two Weeks

They did it! Two groups of high school students completed the Two Weeks to Taxi program at the Glasair factory on time. The kids 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 kids had been involved in building airplanes.

“It was a remarkable experience for everyone involved,” says Peter Bunce, CEO of GAMA. Bunce was there for the two weeks and worked side by side with the students. “They were great to work with. 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.

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 out to Seattle and housed in an Arlington Motel for the two weeks. The kids and their chaperones were treated to side trips to the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, WA, a flightline ramp tour at SeaTac airport, and the Seattle Museum of Flight. During the construction process they were also given flights in a Glasair Sportsman aircraft, a surprise flight to Lake Goodwin in a Sportsman Float plane, piloted by Everett Mellish a Glasair customer, and a gull wing Stinson, piloted by the president of Boeing Business Jets.

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