My experience was much more simple. I love to build things. My neighbor Charlie used to build RC airplanes which pointed me into the Aviation direction. A Friend of mine suggestiong A&P off a wim about4 years ago.. I said why not and followed through with A&P school. Ive been on Cloud 9 ever since.
On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 7:50 PM, <gary.shub...@charter.net> wrote: > > I think Friday is still open for topics not directly related to building > however I think this is related. I am also asking forgiveness in > advance for the length of this post. > > I don't post a lot but after reading about a teacher named Brian Copes > it caused me to remember someone who gave me the love for experimental > aircraft building and then how others can screw up the work that others > created. > > First Brian: > > In the December 2012 issue of the Welding Journal (a trade magazine I > subscribe to) there was a brief article on Brian. I will quote a couple > of paragraphs: > > ?Brian Copes, an AWS member and pre-engineering teacher at Calera High > School, Calera, Ala., has recently been selected by PEOPLE magazine as > one of five winners in its first ?Teacher of the Year? Awards. > > Last summer, Copes took ten of his students to Honduras, where they fit > 14 amputees with artificial legs fashioned from old Toyota Corolla > parts.????????????. > > The story goes on to describe how they designed and created the legs in > their school shop then fitted them on site in Honduras. > > All I can say is WAY TO GO BRIAN and way to think outside the typical > high school education box. I am sure he has stimulated some of his > students toward futures in creative engineering thinking / design, not > to mention the humanitarian aspect of this life lesson. > > Now for my aviation mentor, Mr. Skidmore (Skid): > > Skid was actually an art teacher with a private pilot?s license. He > dreamed up a course curriculum in the late 60?s that became a science > elective at the school. The class was Private Pilot Ground School with > a requirement to also work on an experimental aircraft construction > project. Ground school provided math, physics, and meteorology along > with other academic opportunities. The aircraft construction portion > was focused around ?shop class? type experiences (although we were > building in the art classroom). > > I was a freshman when Skid convinced the School Board of the idea and > was given a budget that was thought to be sufficient to purchase tools > and the kit. The choice boiled down to a Baby Ace or a BD5. The BD won > out and our school purchased kit #64. You know the BD story so I will > not waste the time writing about it. > > In my sophomore year I and about 10 want-a-be pilots were the first > class and I took the class each year for the rest of my high school > time. Skid made sure I had new and challenging things to work on each > year. > > We learned the skills necessary to construct this aircraft which many of > you are either learning or already know. The big thing to me is that > this class started my career in aviation not as a pilot but as an > engineer working in the airframe, turbine engine, and space craft > industries. I love airplanes and I have been fortunate to have had this > experience. > > Skid?s class is still offered at the school although Skid went west > about 10 years ago. > > About 5 years ago I was in the town where this school is located and I > played a hunch. I did not think the BD5 was ever finished and wondered > if I could buy it from the school. So I stopped in and started asking > questions. It turns out I was right about not finishing the BD but the > ?completed? airframe had been lost over the years. They offered to > check one last storage location and said if they found the BD it was > mine, if I would haul it away. However there was a catch, I would need > to speak that day to the current aviation class in exchange for the BD. > I jumped at this. Unfortunately the plane had been sold at some sort of > raffle about 6 years prior, hopefully it found a good home. > > I spoke to the class and here is how the system and people who are not > passionate about what they are attempting to do can ruin a good thing. > When I arrived as the guest speaker ?Former Student Makes Good in the > Aviation Industry?, the class was out of control. The ground school had > deteriorated into a page by page reading out of the Jeppesen private > pilot work book. There was no interest in understanding how this > information could be used in flying or for any other purpose. The shop > class portion had been dropped completely. The teacher was "assigned" > to teach this class and he had flown before but the smallest airplane he > had been in ?had 3 jet engines? so his knowledge base and motivation > toward this class material was a little lacking. While speaking I tried > to solicit some aviation related questions, but basically this class had > turned into an easy science credit and that was about it. > > WHAT A WASTE? > > So I was wondering if anyone else had a Skid type creating a passion for > all things flying and / or all things building. > > Gary Shubert > > N2517D ? Piper Tomahawk > N325JG ? Reserved for either the KR or the Flybaby > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://tugantek.com/archmailv2-kr/search. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html >
