Jim's EAA Platform '05

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EAA Board of Directors 2005 Platform

Jim Weir, EAA 86698


1. I bring to this Board the experience of 3000+ flight and flight
instruction hours, restoring 3 classic aircraft from spinner to
tailfeathers as an A&P, IA, the founder and chief engineer of a 35 year
old avionics company dedicated to owner-built homebuilt aircraft
electronics, and eight years on the county elected board with the
responsibility for a $100 million budget, 800 employees, and 1000 square
miles of land mass.


2. If I have a particular focus and passion, it is education. I note
with interest that EAA has established three entry-level education
programs:

a. The Young Eagles program and website
b. EAA Air Academy
c. Aeroscholars.

i. One of the problems I note with these three programs is that they are
all reactive. That is, it requires effort on the part of the participant
to become involved. My thought would be to have a passive program geared
to the K-8 system that would involve aviation materials integrated into
the basic curriculum. That is, we all remember reading about John and
Jane going to visit their uncle in the country. How did they get there?
Drive, of course. Thus, the student grows up believing that automobiles
are the natural way to travel. Or bus. Or train. Never once did the
concept of flying in a light aircraft enter the elementary school
curriculum. Once you "grab" a young student and have them "grow up" with
the thought that aircraft is a natural way to travel you have a built-in
candidate for their Young Eagle and Air Academy years.

ii. Of course, this naturally folds into making aneroid barometers /
altimeters in science class, papier-mâché airport dioramas in art class,
weight and balance in mathematics class, and all the rest of it. One of
the problems I foresee with this program is that elementary school
teachers expect a fully-fledged curriculum-in-a-box that can be used with
minimal effort. Part of the true work setting up this program is to
understand what the needs of the faculty are and to meet or exceed them.
I note with approval the Fox Valley program, but also observe that this
effort is enjoyed by a very few (1600) students.

iii. I also note with some regret that both the Air Academy and
Aeroscholars are geared towards the privileged students who can afford to
pay for the program. While local chapters certainly can sponsor a
student(s) at both of these programs, I would suggest that a nationally
sponsored scholarship plan for both programs would allow disadvantaged
students with the "fire in their belly" for aviation to participate and
bring new blood into the aviation gene pool. (Yes, I am aware of the
named scholarships and internship program, but these programs are not well
advertised at all.)


3. Another deeply held interest is aircraft electronics, both historical
and modern. After all, avionics has been both my profession and my
avocation for nearly half a century. The museum has a smattering of
historical avionics, but nothing focused. I would propose that we find an
unused corner of the museum for some working, hands-on aviation
electronics and instrumentation that the museum visitor can touch, smell,
and feel.


4. Last, but certainly not least, is my desire to have all segments of
aviation represented within the EAA umbrella. Certainly there is room
inside the EAA tent for anybody who has an enthusiasm for aviation to find
their niche in the organization. In the words of Lyndon Johnson, "I'd
rather have them all inside the tent spitting out than outside the tent
spitting in."



Thank you for your time and trouble.







Jim Weir
VP Engineering
RST Engineering