A will to fly

Have you ever known anyone with such a strong desire to fly they will meet any challenge and keep moving forward no matter what?

My wife Joan and I met such a person two years ago. Her name is Rachel St. Louis and she just turned 17 and is a junior in high school.

Over the last few years we kept meeting up with Rachel and her loving and supportive parents, Mike and Rose. They are from Machias, Maine, but we never see them there, we always find them on an airport ramp in Florida.

They are always greeting folks inside or outside a large black trailer with the name Rachel’s Jewelry stenciled in bright pink on the side. This trailer is generally found at airshows in Florida, such as the recent Deland Sport Aviation Showcase, SUN ‘n FUN, as well as at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Visitors to airshows initially wonder why anybody would be selling jewelry on a flight line amongst all the airplanes on display.

The answer is because Rachel is using this business to fund the construction of a light-sport Bush Cat.

She designs and creates all the jewelry sold out of the trailer — as well as online — with skills taught to her by her mother, Rose. Most of the earrings, necklaces, and bracelets are aviation related. Although we noticed this year she has branched out a bit to add a professional sports theme to represent favorite teams.

Her customers are pilots, aviation enthusiasts, pilots’ families, and just about anyone else you may find at an airshow.

The trailer was put together a few years ago with the help of her Dad, Mike. Since Rachel is still in high school, he drives the jewelry display trailer to the airshow site and Rachel and her mother fly down commercial to staff the event.

On the day my wife Joan and I stopped by to chat, Rachel was in the trailer studying for a test she would be taking that would be sent back to her school.

Luckily, her school works with her so she can travel to keep her business going. She doesn’t get any breaks on the academics. She has to pass the same exams as all the other kids. However, at her young age she could probably teach a masters program in business administration.

She made a deal with the Bush Cat manufacturer to sell her small parts of the airplane kit as she was able to afford them from the profits of her business. In years past when you visited her boutique showroom trailer you could monitor the progress she was making on the airplane because it was on display.

It was not there this year because it is now too big and not easy to transport. In other words, she has finished the fuselage, wings, and tail assembly and now she needs the engine and avionics.

This is where she faces many challenges that have slowed her down a bit.

Her father, who has owned a plane for many years and can be credited for instilling her passion to fly, had a medical problem of his own this spring, which means he wasn’t able to fly for a while. This was the reason they were not at SUN ‘n FUN in April. He is doing better now and can make sure the jewelry trailer gets to where it needs to be.

When we visited Rachel this year at the DeLand Sport Aviation Showcase, her right arm was in a sling due to recent shoulder surgery for an injury she sustained while playing tennis. But she seemed to roll with that punch. When she gets home, she will be having knee surgery right away, to be followed by surgery on the other knee after the first surgery heals to correct congenital knee problems. After all this she will truly be a bionic woman.

On the aviation side of things, a couple of costly challenges are also facing her. She needs the engine and the avionics for her Bush Cat. The engine required for the plane is a Rotax 912 ULS, but the avionics offer many choices. You need to sell a lot of earrings to get over these hurdles.

She is trying to sell small airplane stickers that will be applied to the fabric of the plane to show sponsorship of her project, sort of the way they do at NASCAR. This could become a weight and balance problem if too successful!

Rachel seems undaunted by all these challenges and is determined to realize her dream. We hope she does.

Rachel already has around 150 hours flying her Dad’s plane, none of which is loggable. Her mother tells me she has started official flying lessons with a certified flight instructor. She already knows how to fly but she has to put in the time just like everybody else.

Her parents support her in this passion and are working with her as much as possible to help her achieve her dream.