General Aviation News Article Perfectly Captures Our “habitat”
When General Aviation News writer and pilot Kevin Brooker taxied up to our hangar at Franklin County State Airport, we thought he might stay for a quick tour, a few questions, a group photo, and then be on his way. Instead, he spent the whole day with us.
He watched our Rans S-21 wings fill with clecos and rivets. He stood beside our pink tool crib and listened to Miranda explain how a Young Eagles flight turned into an A&P apprenticeship and a full-ride scholarship. He watched Sammie learn to drill her first rivet under Aubrianna’s guidance. He heard Disa talk about what it means to be our “Hangar Granny” in a room full of young builders finding their voice. He saw builders pause for lunch to drink up a captivating Lunch & Learn with a guest speaker.
It is one thing to list these details on a grant application, in a newsletter, or on a slide. It is another to have someone step into the middle of it and understand what is actually happening.
Kevin’s piece in General Aviation News, “Habitat for Aviation: Learning by doing,” did exactly that. General Aviation News
For our team, reading his article felt less like press and more like recognition.
He traced the threads from Beth’s childhood in a “we can fix anything” Vermont household, to the gift of a green-and-white Cessna 150, to the moment she looked around and realized she was the only woman at the airport. He followed that through to the Youth Aviator pipeline, to the questions George Coy asked as he neared 80, to the decision to launch Habitat for Aviation and then WOMEN BUILD PLANES. He did not reduce the story to “girls building a plane.” He saw what lives in the space between those words: our “habitat”.
We were proud to see that Beth’s alma mater, College of the Atlantic, and AOPA pick up and repost our article.
To have General Aviation News share that story with the wider aviation community means a great deal to us. This coverage affirms that hands-on, relationship-driven, equity-centered training belongs at the heart of aviation’s future, not at the margins. It honors the hundreds of hours our builders, mentors, champions, donors, and partners have already invested. It signals to young people across the country—especially girls and those who have not seen themselves reflected in the industry—that WOMEN BUILD, FIX, and FLY airplanes.
