Within the vintage community, a number of simple aircraft designs from Taylorcraft, Luscombe, and Aeronca haven’t surged quite like much of the market and remain a value for folks looking to get into aviation.

Walking through the Vintage parking area at EAA AirVenture, Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) director Ray Johnson motioned to a taildragger parked nearby.

“A young guy or gal could buy something like this Taylorcraft, or a Champ, then fly it a ton to build their hours up and sell it without taking a big hit on the resale value,” Johnson said.

But as any vintage aircraft owner can attest, purchase price is one thing. Upkeep is another. To that end, on Monday morning VAA leaders conducted a ribbon cutting at the Charles W. Harris Youth Aviation Center.

The center, a hangar behind the flight line in the vintage aircraft parking area, aims to attract area youth for hands-on experience learning how to use basic and equipment to maintain and repair aircraft, while introducing them to pilots and mechanics. At the same time, they can learn about types of aircraft that can become an affordable entry purchase into aviation for learning to fly and building time.

VAA president Susan Dusenberry said building the youth hangar took a bit longer than her initial five-year plan. But the well-finished exterior and interior certainly gives hints as to the thought put into its construction while also managing rising construction costs over those years. Dusenberry said that while education is important, so is building a community.

“In addition to the things we want to teach, we really want to foster a sense of belonging to the participating youth,” Dusenberry said.

Given the significant generation gaps involved, it could seem to be a daunting task. But Dusenberry and the VAA leaders have tapped a cadre of advisers in their 20s to help develop the program’s curriculum to ensure that it can gain traction without the generational challenges a teenager might have while considering a program that’s headed up by folks who are, shall we say, considerably older?

Between the youth advisers and a very friendly atmosphere, the Harris Aviation Center should readily handle those challenges.

The center was half financed from the estate of Charles Harris and half through EAA member donations. Their plans borrow partly on the Youth Aviation Program (YAP) that the late Ron Alexander, former VAA director, formed at Peach State Aerodrome south of Atlanta.

The YAP, operating completely independently of any school, draws high school students from the surrounding community to help in restoring and repairing vintage aircraft. Their labor at the shop is paid out in the form of flight instruction with the flying club on the field. Several students have earned their private pilot certificate, and at least one received their airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic certificate.

More information may be found here.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Plane & Pilot.

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The aircraft is on display this week at EAA AirVenture’s Vintage Aircraft Circle.

The Ackermans bought the Stinson as a project in October 2011, and it quickly became apparent the project was more than the two could handle.

The Stinson is a large aircraft for a four-seater, tipping the scales at 2,617 pounds empty, which is about what many four-seat general aviation aircraft gross out, fully loaded. Nothing about it is small, including the documentation the Ackermans had to wade through, including 18 reels of 35 mm microfilm, with each stretching out 100 feet long.

Stinson NC3040 was the first production Stinson Gullwing, which would be enough fame for most any flying machine. Their particular Stinson had lived something of a higher-profile existence, having been owned through the late 1930s by Pepsi-Cola, and it had been painted with the company logo for publicity work. Through the ’50s and ’60s, the airplane grew derelict and was parked.

The Ackermans turned to RARE Aircraft in Faribault, Minnesota, to take on the work. RARE Aircraft is noted as a Stearman and WACO restoration shop, whose wood and fabric work are well known in the community.

On July 12, the freshly restored Stinson took its first flight in almost 70 years, following four years of work by RARE Aircraft and the preceding effots of the Ackermans. The restoration is well-researched and incorporates tasteful updates, such as avionics and safety improvements, to make the Stinson more easily handled in today’s environment.

While the Ackermans haven’t flown their plane yet, the test/ferry pilot reported that it cruised at about 140 mph and landed at 48 mph. They plan to keep the plane about a decade as custodians before passing it along to the next of its caretakers.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Plane & Pilot.

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