2022 End of year assessment
Another year in the history books! So, where does the Impossible Airplane stand at the end of 2022?
(I’ll be honest, I will ask for a donation for an important safety milestone later, but I’ll share the info you’re here for first.)
Construction
Bob and the wonderful folks at EAA Chapter 898 in Toms River, NJ, are continuing the assembly of the RV-10. Thus far, the completed pieces include:
the rudder,
the vertical stabilizer,
the horizontal stabilizer, and
the elevators (mostly, just a couple of rivets left)
Bob let me cleco the ribs for the horizontal stabilizer unsupervised.
The quickbuild wings arrived in massive crates! They’ll mostly hang out in the hangar until the quickbuild fuselage arrives in August 2023.
custom controls
We have added another leading design for custom controls for Jessica, thanks to engineering students at the University of Arizona. We will have more updates on these soon.
Other parts & pieces
Jessica met with the team at Advanced Flight Systems to pick out a panel system that works best for her feet. Also, while in the area, she stopped in at Oregon Aero, who will help us design a custom seat just for Jessica and her custom controls.
Tempest and Hartzel have both pledged support when the time comes to mount the engine and prop. Aircraft Design Studio will be working with Jessica on a final paint scheme.
Thank you to all of Jessica’s supporters!
When will you see it?
We have plans. And those plans have plans. One of the first opportunities will be at AirVenture 2023. The airplane won’t be ready for the show, but we’re working on an import stage in the process. We want it to be at least a little bit of a surprise!
There’s a catch. We need to raise $29,000 by April in order to finish this important stage. These funds go directly to this safety stage check. You can donate here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=88N8QFCT4GYKE
I know we ask for donations quite often here. So, if you’d like to help Jessica in other ways, here’s some of the work and materials that will also help us.
We can save a good chunk of that goal if a sheet metal expert in Arizona is willing to donate their time (if that’s you, please email us). This isn’t airworthy metal. It just needs to look good.
We are also looking for a box trailer. Preferably eight feet wide and 16-20 feet long. This trailer will allow us to bring the “surprise” to AirVenture and other events in the future.
A team of volunteers to strip and repaint in Arizona. Or a volunteer paint shop. Again, not airworthy. It just needs to look good.
If you have a lead on anyone willing to help with these three tasks, you can email us at rightfootedfoundation [at] gmail [dot] com.
Goals
Our goal has always been to get The Impossible Airplane flying by December 31, 2025. We’re on track to meet that goal, so the question is, “What happens after that?”
This is where it really gets fun! We’ve outlined several goals for the project. The first goal will be to premier The Impossible Airplane at a large aviation event such as AirVenture or Sun n Fun. Once all the kinks are ironed out, Jessica will complete her transition training in the RV-10. Then she’ll fly across the country showcasing this unique airplane and advocating our primary message: “disability does not mean inability.”
There’s a whole wide world of possibilities after that. Hopefully, with the right connections, Jessica and The Impossible Airplane can do a flyover of events like the 2028 Olympics and the Paralympics. Wouldn’t that be amazing with “disability blue” smoke trailing behind?!?
Thank you to everyone who’s helped us get this far. We have a long way to go, but we know we can get there!
Thinking outside the shoe,
Patrick & Jessica
