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Donated plane’s imperfections appreciated at Spokane Community College

Student Nathaniel Hill, left, jokes with classmate Aaron Vigilante in a Spokane Community College aviation maintenance program hangar at Felts Field on Jan. 28. The program recently received a small, experimental airplane, which will expand the students’ hands-on experience. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Student Nathaniel Hill, left, jokes with classmate Aaron Vigilante in a Spokane Community College aviation maintenance program hangar at Felts Field on Jan. 28. The program recently received a small, experimental airplane, which will expand the students’ hands-on experience. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Eli Francovich elif@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508

It isn’t a perfect gift, but that’s part of the appeal.

Last month, Spokane Community College’s aviation maintenance program received an airplane built by a local lawyer. It’s made of fiberglass and features all the inconsistencies and workarounds of a true do-it-yourself project.

Leith Joseph Woodward, a Spokane attorney who died recently, gave the program the Glasair plane, valued at between $35,000 and $40,000. Woodward was an avid aviator and asked before he died that the plane be used for educational purposes. The plane was officially handed over on Jan. 19 by Woodward’s daughter, Aki Woodward.

“Our equipment here is so expensive,” said faculty member Karl Bawden. “So, anytime we can come up with donations it is just phenomenal.”

Part of the value of the plane to the program is that it was built by an amateur. Many parts of the plane aren’t up to Federal Aviation Administration standards, Bawden said.

“This is more what you’re going to see in general aviation,” he said of the plane. “Their exposure to seeing this, the different types of construction, is very good.”

Known as a kit plane, the Glasair was assembled by Woodward. Aaron Vigilante, a second-year student, hesitated when talking about the do-it-yourself nature of the plane.

“I don’t want to say flaws because a man poured his soul into this,” Vigilante said, only to be interrupted by Bruce Perry, another second-year student who said no, they are in fact flaws.

Although Perry appreciates the plane, and the man who donated it, he pointed out some of those items. Safety wire around bolts, for instance, isn’t wrapped enough times to meet FAA standards, at least for commercial aircraft. Engine access is limited and the body work isn’t always consistent.

A small plaque in the plane warns passengers that an amateur built it, saying, “This aircraft is amateur-built and does not comply with the federal safety regulations for ‘standard aircraft.’ In my opinion it exceeds them.”

However, because it’s a kit build, also known as an experimental plane, it doesn’t have to comply to the same set of FAA standards.

“For a kit-built, it’s pretty slick,” Perry said.

Perry said he was also impressed that it was the first plane Woodward built.

In addition to giving students a chance to work on a less-than-perfect plane, the Glasair allows students to work on a fiberglass aircraft.

“We didn’t really have a whole airplane made of composite,” Bawden said.

Prior to the donation, students worked on large sheets of fiberglass.

The two-year aviation maintenance program has between 100 and 150 students at a time and trains students to become entry-level airplane mechanics.

The class, which works out of two hangars at Felts Field, has about 20 planes students can practice on. Bawden has taught in the program for 20 years.