Twenty EAA employees represented the organization at the Appleton International Airport September 9 to participate in a uniquely exciting competition: to see which of 18 teams could pull an Airbus A300 12 feet in the shortest amount of time. The challenge was part of the airport’s Pulling for Honor fundraiser that this year raised $75,398 for Old Glory Honor Flight, an organization that flies local U.S. veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorials built in their honor.
Though the day got off to an intimidating start, with the first few teams only managing to pull the airplane a few inches in five minutes, strategy and adrenaline kicked in throughout the day and 12 teams succeeded at pulling the A300 the full 12 feet.
The EAA team felt a special connection to the cause because of the unique interactions with veterans many people on staff get to experience through the organization, and set out to honor those men and women. Their efforts were successful, pulling the 200,000-pound airplane the full 12 feet in 13.68 seconds and taking fifth place overall.
“We raised just over $1,600 and the event raised enough to send a whole flight to Washington, D.C.,” said EAA staffer Chris Henry, who organized EAA’s participation in the event. “We are very proud to be a small part of that. I am so proud of our EAA team made up of my co-workers. They are more than just co-workers here at EAA. They are family. They gave up a Saturday off to come out to this event and pull this airplane for such a great reason. We are already looking forward to next year.”