Buiding their wings
Experimental Aircraft Club takes to new heights by buliding their own aircraft
Stephen Rocha
Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: News
Look up at the sky during OctoberWest weekend and you might see Professor Vince Scott overhead flying the first completed project of the Experimental Aircraft Club.
A light sport Slipstream Sceptor, is the first ambitious project the Experimental Aircraft Club wishes to finish by OctoberWest. This will set the excitement high as the club plans to sell this light sport to pay for one of their other even more ambitious ideas: a 180 horsepower Acrosport tail dragger biplane.
Spring 2007 was the beginning of the new EAC. It all started when Scott sent out an email to all students informing them of his interest to start the EAC. The first to respond was sophomore Roger Barchha. "I first went to see [Professor Scott] about the club when I got his email. I contacted him and decided to attend the first meeting," said Barchha.
Shorty after, Barchha went to the meeting and ran for president. "A lot of people showed up to the meeting which was exciting because the club could be started," commented Barchha.
That was the beginning of the EAC but the hard part was right around the corner. Funding, materials, time, and space were required. Little did they know, the material and space were already at the clubs accessibility as there was already an EAC in Embry-Riddle's past.
A couple of years ago, the EAC existed under the supervision of two knowledgeable advisors. The club was very successful until tragedy struck. when both pilots were practicing acrobatic moves training for an air show. Both airplanes collided and fell to earth killing the advisors. The club was shut down overnight. All the building materials, plans, tools, and drive for the club were put away in one of their workshops and forgotten. Scott and Barchha had no knowledge of this prior to their start of the new EAC.
Out of the ashes, a new hope emerged for the new EAC as they now had the space, materials and tools to get this club off the ground and into the sky. Now that one of the major problems was resolved, the EAC had to deal with a more prominent one. "Building an airplane is not a cheap hobby. The average cost of building an airplane is $100,000," said Barchha. "Our Acrosport might cost between $60,000 to $70,000. We are hoping that the light sport will pay for most if not all of this cost."
A light sport Slipstream Sceptor, is the first ambitious project the Experimental Aircraft Club wishes to finish by OctoberWest. This will set the excitement high as the club plans to sell this light sport to pay for one of their other even more ambitious ideas: a 180 horsepower Acrosport tail dragger biplane.
Spring 2007 was the beginning of the new EAC. It all started when Scott sent out an email to all students informing them of his interest to start the EAC. The first to respond was sophomore Roger Barchha. "I first went to see [Professor Scott] about the club when I got his email. I contacted him and decided to attend the first meeting," said Barchha.
Shorty after, Barchha went to the meeting and ran for president. "A lot of people showed up to the meeting which was exciting because the club could be started," commented Barchha.
That was the beginning of the EAC but the hard part was right around the corner. Funding, materials, time, and space were required. Little did they know, the material and space were already at the clubs accessibility as there was already an EAC in Embry-Riddle's past.
A couple of years ago, the EAC existed under the supervision of two knowledgeable advisors. The club was very successful until tragedy struck. when both pilots were practicing acrobatic moves training for an air show. Both airplanes collided and fell to earth killing the advisors. The club was shut down overnight. All the building materials, plans, tools, and drive for the club were put away in one of their workshops and forgotten. Scott and Barchha had no knowledge of this prior to their start of the new EAC.
Out of the ashes, a new hope emerged for the new EAC as they now had the space, materials and tools to get this club off the ground and into the sky. Now that one of the major problems was resolved, the EAC had to deal with a more prominent one. "Building an airplane is not a cheap hobby. The average cost of building an airplane is $100,000," said Barchha. "Our Acrosport might cost between $60,000 to $70,000. We are hoping that the light sport will pay for most if not all of this cost."
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