By Jim Hoak, EAA Lifetime 29646
At age 87, I am entering the sunset of my life, so I decided to tell my fellow EAA members what this fine organization has meant to me. I’m not sure when I became a member, but it was sometime in the mid-1960s after I discovered the organization while reading Mechanix Illustrated and FLYING magazines. I became a Lifetime member when that option was first offered, somewhere in the 1960s or 1970s.
I saw a Bob Bushby advertisement in FLYING magazine for plans for the Dave Long-designed Midget Mustang 1 in the 1960s. It just looked like the airplane for me. My wife, two daughters, and I had just settled in a new home in the Atlanta, Georgia, area when I became an aircraft mechanic for Delta Air Lines. Although my military experience had been as both a reciprocating engine and jet engine mechanic, I was fortunate to be assigned to a periodic maintenance crew which allowed me to gain some sheet metal work experience. I attended Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics and obtained an airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate before joining Delta in 1963.
I had started flying as a student pilot with a few hours flown, here and there, in the aero clubs at some of the U.S. Air Force bases at which I was assigned, but never did solo the Aeronca Champs I was flying. Finally I obtained my private license in 1964. Now it was time to build that Mustang. That took about 3,000 man-hours over a four-year period, beginning in 1967 and ending with the first flight on September 10, 1971. I sold the Mustang after five years to purchase half interest in a nice 1968 Mooney Statesman, so that I could take my family flying with me. Over the years I have built three homebuilt aircraft, the last being an early Zenith CH-601HD which I flew for 25 years and 800 hours. I had the opportunity to take quite a few Young Eagles for their first flight in the Zenith. The airplane now lives in Maryland with a fine fellow there.
I knew of the EAA annual fly-in conventions at Rockford in my early years of EAA membership, but my low seniority number on the inspection crew to which I was assigned at Delta during that time didn’t allow me to get a vacation to attend. Instead, as a member of EAA Chapter 6 in Atlanta, I concentrated on becoming an EAA designee inspector (now technical counselor) as it was called in those days, helping other homebuilt aircraft builders in my area. My family and I moved to a home at a small airport community south of Atlanta in 1972. I was living the dream of an airplane “nut.” As a bonus, my family and I went to Oshkosh the very first year that the annual convention was held there.
In March 1974, some of my airpark neighbors and others and I founded EAA Chapter 468 at the Berry Hill Airport (7GA7) in Stockbridge, Georgia. This was a great time to be participating in general and homebuilt aviation. I was able to attend the Oshkosh gatherings again and even flew the Mustang there in 1975, with no radio. I was a resident of that airpark for nearly 51 years when we finally moved to a different part of Georgia to be near our daughters and grandchildren. I became a member of EAA Chapter 172 after moving to the east side of Georgia.
During the early years as a member of Chapter 6 in Atlanta, I was able to participate in regional EAA meetings such as in Greenville, South Carolina, where Paul Poberezny, Vern Jobst, and others would attend. I did actually attend some business meetings at EAA headquarters in Hales Corners in the early days, too. Our Chapter 468 hosted the EAA reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis in 1977, when it was toured around the country. I and several of our Chapter 468 members went to the first SUN ‘n FUN gathering in Lakeland, Florida. I was fortunate to participate as the sheet metal shop chairman there for several years, working with great volunteers from all over the U.S.
My connections with operations in Oshkosh were important to me. I contributed to the original construction of the museum. Later programs that I was able to participate in were the Century Club, Vision of Eagles, and the Founders’ Wing. I was able to meet many fine folks over the years at the 45 or so conventions I was able to attend. Working as a volunteer in many different places was a joy over the years. I enjoyed working with the One Week Wonder projects and in the workshops.
A real treat was the five years that I was able to fly to Oshkosh in Ron Alexander’s DC-3, N28AA. Over the years, camping in the campground was a fantastic experience, even with the occasional storms and giant mosquitoes. Just after my 75th birthday, and on the way home from Oshkosh in 2013 in the DC-3, I urged Ron Alexander to consider starting a youth aviation program at the Peach State Aerodrome in Williamson, Georgia. EAA Chapter 468 had moved there and was part of the aviation folks who made the youth program succeed. The Ron Alexander Youth Aviation Program, with great volunteer mentors, has produced more than 30 private pilots and eight A&P mechanics during the 11 years it has existed and is going strong.
So, you EAA members who are just getting started, look at what you have to look forward to. Get yourself involved with your local chapter. If one doesn’t exist, start one. Be a volunteer when and where you can. You will get great satisfaction from your efforts. The EAA Young Eagles program always needs volunteers, both on the ground and in the air. Taking young folks for their first flights were some of the most enjoyable flights I have ever flown! Being a member of EAA has been a large part of the lives for my family and me. Many of my lifetime friends are those who I met throughout the years at EAA activities.
