EAA Chapter Tool Crib Program
May 2021 – This month, we are highlighting the EAA Chapter Tool Crib as our chapter program of the month.
Goal: Encourage EAA chapters to improve their support of members building and maintaining aircraft.
Summary: EAA will match 30% of qualified tool purchases up to $300 per chapter until the $30,000 grant is exhausted.
It is common as an aircraft builder to need a tool for a specific operation that is simply too expensive to justify purchasing for a few uses. A great example of this is the Nicopress tool needed for swaging control cables. This tool makes the job infinitely easier and provides a much higher quality than other options. And yet, Nicopress tools typically cost around $300 and are only needed a couple of times on an aircraft.
This is where an EAA chapter can provide help by having a shared tool program. In order to encourage chapters to establish or expand their tool offerings, EAA members Ray and Penny Bowman and the Burgher Fund have donated $30,000 to establish this matching tool fund.
The philosophy behind our list of tools that qualify for reimbursement is:
- Only needed occasionally during a build or for maintenance
- Expensive to purchase
- Correct tool for a quality outcome
Requirements for reimbursement:
- Tool is purchased by the chapter after 7/22/2019 and owned by EAA chapter
- Purchase tool from a recognized vendor (Aircraft Spruce, Cleveland Tools, Mittler Brothers, etc); no purchases from individuals are eligible.
- Tool is on the Eligible Tool List
- Complete the application form
- Complete the Customer Authorization Form for ACH or Wire Payment [PDF] (All funds will be transferred via ACH directly; if you already have an ACH form on file, you can skip this step).
- Complete a chapter W9 form [PDF]
