One Week Wonder Takes Flight

August 2, 2018 - Exactly one week after construction began on the Van’s Aircraft RV-12iS kit that served as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018’s One Week Wonder, the finished product took flight on Monday evening, July 30.

EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council Chairman Vic Syracuse, EAA 180848, took the RV for its inaugural flight and said it was an ideal, uneventful first flight with no problems.

“What a perfect airplane,” Vic said. “I can’t believe it took a week to build this. That was wonderful.”

Charlie Becker, EAA’s director of chapters and communities & homebuilt community manager, said the One Week Wonder’s first flight was made possible due to the employees from Van’s who oversaw the build, the volunteers who assisted, and the thousands of AirVenture attendees who pitched in.

“It was a huge accomplishment for the team at Van’s Aircraft and all of our volunteers,” Charlie said. “We had 100 core builders plus over 2,500 people that helped pull a rivet on the aircraft. I thought it turned out awesome. The energy all week was very high.”

The 2018 One Week Wonder is the second One Week Wonder project completed in Oshkosh. In 2014, more than 2,500 visitors helped with the construction of the first, a Zenith CH 750 Cruzer.

The 2018 One Week Wonder is presented by Van's Aircraft, Rotax, and Garmin, and supported by Sherwin-Williams Aerospace, Bose, Flightline Interiors, LLC, Sensenich Propellers Mfg. Co., Inc., MATCO Mfg, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, AeroLEDs, SteinAir, Inc, Scheme Designers, Inc, Lowe’s Home Improvement, EarthX Lithium Batteries, AmSafe, RAS General Aviation Solutions, The Ray Allen Company, Andair, Newton Consulting SPRL, and RAMI.