FAA Acting Administrator Sturgell Recognizes EAA Milestone

by ANN Correspondent Larry Stencel

Yuma, AZ homebuilder Bob Noll's RV-9A airplane was recognized as the honorary 30,000th US-registered homebuilt at a ceremony Thursday morning at AirVenture 2008. Standing on stage with his daughter Katrina who came to AirVenture with him, acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell, FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nick Sabatini, EAA President Tom Poberezny and EAA Founder Paul Poberezny were on hand to recognize the milestone of 30,000 homebuilt airplanes registered.

On Tuesday, EAA homebuilders' community manager Joe Norris tracked Bob and his daughter Katrina down in the homebuilt camping area, and notified them that their name had been picked from among the 20 who applied for the honor. Because the FAA aircraft certification system has no way to exactly identify the 30,000th homebuilt, the EAA established criteria to pick one airplane to claim the honorary title. The requirements were that the airplane had to have received its certification in 2008 and had to be in attendance at AirVenture 2008.

Registering when they arrived, Bob had no forewarning that he would be an instant celebrity. When asked how he reacted to the honor, Bob replied, "I smiled from ear to ear." He was still smiling during the ceremony. So was his daughter Katrina.

As he drove up in "Red One," Paul Poberezny was asked how he felt about the milestone after 55 years since he founded EAA. His answer, "unbelievable, simply unbelievable." to which he gave a thumbs up.

With Bob's beautiful RV-9A N94BN sitting on an adjacent raised stage, when it was finally Bob's turn to talk, he stated that it "humbles you" to be chosen to represent that milestone number. He started building the airplane in October 2004 and said that the earliest picture of the project was of a younger Katrina in pajamas taking inventory of the parts they received. "Building the airplane was a family project," he said. Now 17 years of age, Katrina is also a licensed private pilot.

Sturgell commented the first homebuilders were the Wright Brothers. He went on to say that the FAA is a willing participant in the homebuilt movement which supports homebuilding as recreational, educational as well as fun. He cited the example of winglets and Wittman-style landing gear as being technology which flowed from the homebuilt airplane. (At the subsequent "Meet the Boss" forum, Administrator Sturgell additionally commented that the number 30,000 represents 10 percent of the registered airplanes in the US.)

EAA Founder Paul Poberezny commented that he came along at the "right time" back in 1953, that the (then) CAA supported the movement. Now, 55 years later, the work was "worthwhile."

EAA President Tom Poberezny commented that the homebuilt movement was, "a living partnership between industry, community and the CAA then FAA. The freedom to fly in the US fosters the movement and allows ingenious builders to craft machines which hardly could be envisioned back in 1953," said Poberezny.

Joe Noll said that he was an accountant by trade and had no building experience. Armed only with a "lifelong dream" to build an airplane, he said he received much help from his local EAA Chapter 590 in Yuma. His choice of an RV-9A was, in fact, an outgrowth of flying in one of that Chapter members RV-9's. He estimates that 1,500 hours of building time was logged but that much unlogged time beyond that was spent. The airplane now has 100 hours of time on it and performs exactly as expected.

Bob's RV-9A, N94BN, can be seen in AeroShell Square.

FMI: www.eaa.org