History

The history of AviationNation as shared by our founder, Bob Kelly:

All of this goes back to about 2007 or 8 when I got the idea. I had retired, my wife had retired, and I was really tired of sitting around doing nothing. I wanted to do something that was important and gave back. I was 65 years old and really needed something worthwhile to do.

I thought back on the things that I had done over the years, and realized that I probably had the most fun when I built my airplane, a Van's RV-9 A. It had been a lot of fun, and it was more fun when I started taking kids for airplane rides and working with kids. I decided that something involving kids in aviation might be in line for my next avocation.

When I went to Oshkosh that year, I met with  Dick Van Grunsven, the founder of Van's Aircraft. He had a new airplane there that year, the RV-12. It was easier tp build than his other designs, and I felt that it could be done by kids. He agreed and we talked about it. I told him I was going to find a high school that would allow me to start a Van's RV 12 project. He told me I was crazy. I already knew that, but I I went ahead anyway. I started looking for high schools in southern Indiana that would let me do this as an in-school project.

I spent almost a year searching for a schools gullible enough to let me try this. I went here and there with no success. People had no room, no people, felt it was too expensive,, or it was too dangerous, with too much liability; all kinds of excuses like that, I wasn't really totally put off. After about a year of looking without success, I got a call from the nearest high school to me, North Vernon Indiana Jennings County High School. The engineering teacher called and said that he was ready now for a project like that, if I still wanted to  try. I ask him when I should start, and he said, “How about Tuesday.” I had no preparation, no planning, no parts, no tools, nothing but a good idea. But I was there Tuesday, and ready for whatever fell my way. 10 kids volunteered to be a part of the build  initially.  We worked from early September until about February. We had some parts that looked sort of like airplane parts. The school had an open house. Everyone came and could see what we had done. I was particularly interested in one man that came and looked and asked a couple questions. Then the engineering teacher came over and said “Bob, I want you to meet our superintendent.” No one at that point had known that we were doing this in the school! He could have thrown us out on our ear, but he didn't. He was very supportive, He thought it was a great idea, and we were off and running,.

That when on  until summer, when I took some of the kids to Oshkosh for the big airshow/convention. They had a good time, learned a lot, and had lots of fun. I knew we had something here.

About the time of the open house, some one stuck his head in the door while we were working on our project. He asked what we were doing. I told him. In the 2 minutes he was there, he decided that his school could do the same thing. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and ran a school for high school dropouts. That was our second project, all without knocking on a door.

That pretty much closed out the first phase of Eagle's Nest Projects. One of the kids actually came up with Eagle's Nest name. From then on, it was trying to start projects in other areas. Finding other schools was much easier than it had been when looking for the first. First came Texas, then Florida, then Wisconsin and several other states. I started a booklet about how to begin a build project. Van's promoted us some which helped greatly.

Little did we know that this was not only the end of the first phase, but the end of our association with Eagle's Nest. Other members of my Board had other ideas. Not about taking it in a different direction or trying to accomplish more, but forming different leadership. I wished them well.

Let's review what we accomplished:

The first airplane build in schools since the 1940s.

STEM programs that pay for themselves thru aircraft sales.

Mass visits to airshows.

Organized help with others starting build projects.

Convinced the EAA to give free airshow tickets to Oshkosh to youths.

These are but a few of our accomplishments. After I left Eagle's Nest, I thought of ways build programs could be improved and formed AviationNation. The goal was to expand opportunities and broaden our horizons. We found ways to accept home schoolers. We allowed colleges to apply for projects. We even found that we could work with junior high students. We increased scholarship applications, both for colleges and flight training programs. There was a lot to do.

Then cane COVID.

I had just had a stroke, and in a strange way, COVID may have been a blessing. All schools closed, so all projects were at a standstill. I had time to recuperate, and no one needed my help. I came up with a few ways that AviationNation could be a better force in expanding the aviation workforce, something that was becoming more important. I began to think more about military aviation.

The plane that had been taking most of my attention was the one started by Columbus North. It had moved from the school to Bakalar airport. It was about half done. During COVID, it languished for about three years. It was scattered all over the airport.

I heard someone had finally collected the components in one place. We got a crew together and spirited everything away to North Vernon airport. We began the final phase for Jeanie, a name for the plane given by one of the early builders. Jeanie Lewellen Norbek had been a Columbus HS graduate, and the only woman from the area killed flying in WWII. I thought it a fitting tribute.

At North Vernon, my emphasis became training mentors. While kids did most of the building, mentors became my focus. We went much slower  than before, working only one night each week. We began working a little closer with another non-profit organization, the Virtual Fltght Academy. Their President had been on my Board of Directors for years, and I on his. We had similar goals, but the VFA worked more with flight simulators and military organizations. It would prove to be most helpful.

This may be an appropriate time to mention some accomplishments as AviationNation:

First project completed at a college or university.

First project completed by the sole donor (working as Chief Mentor.)

First project using home schooled students.

First use of a n 8th grader as builder,

At least one student builder has gone on to high level aviation management.

Again, this is a short list. There were others.

We have plans also, We have discovered that Work Force Development money is easier to come by than Education money. We are moving in that direction, We are also going to merge our efforts with those of the Virtual Flight Academy. We soon will both begin going under the title Career Bridges Institute. We are currently working with one state to test our efforts. Other states are interested in our success.

While we are attempting to work with greater organization, we haven't forgotten our roots. The individual school and individual student are our most important goals. If they succeed, so will AviationNation.