One Week Wonder Opens; Come Help Build a Plane

July 23, 2018 - “One week!” the crowd chanted. “One week!”         

“Can you do this in a week?” a volunteer identified only as Capt. Yaw yelled out. “Yes!” the crowd shouted back.

“In how long?” he roared. “One week!” they bellowed back.

The grand opening of One Week Wonder on Monday resembled a pep rally, meant to get the building team riled up and ready to go. And go they must, if they and visitors to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 are to finish building a Van’s Aircraft RV-12iS by 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 29.

“This is a special event,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and chairman of the board, at the press conference before the build officially started. “It’s gotten to be an EAA tradition to highlight that homebuilding is really something that anyone can do,” he said. “But we certainly couldn’t do it without the sponsors who made it possible — Van’s Aircraft, with donation of the aircraft, along with Rotax, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co., Sherwin Williams, and the list goes on.”

As Pelton motioned to the digital clock on the back wall of the work area, the countdown began. A sea of volunteers immediately started unpacking the box of parts as convention visitors lined up to have their turn helping with the build.

You can help build One Week Wonder at EAA’s Four Corners, located at the intersection of Knapp Street and Celebration Way, now through Sunday.