Thursday, July 26, 2018

A Wing and a Prayer




 This  week has been an exciting one for the Two Late Bloomers I blog about each month.
Charles & Frieda
Waiting for Takeoff

This past week has been an exciting one for the Two Late Bloomers I blog about each month. We flew into Philadelphia and traveled to the beautiful state of Delaware to experience a much anticipated event. Our hotel was in the quaint town of Lewes—close to the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. This historical town was founded by the Dutch in the mid-1600s. “The First Town in the First State” is the motto of Lewes. Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution in 1787, making it the “First State.” 


The real reason for our visit took place in the town of Georgetown at ALOFT AeroArchitects. There we reached an exciting milestone in the history of our company.

A flight test on a Boeing 737-700 aircraft, with Charles’ Finlets attached passed with flying colors. A Federal Aviation Administration Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) has been issued and we are now free to sell his invention to commercial airlines. The engineering process began eight years ago and has involved a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and prayers.
737 Test Flight
Our thanks to our engineers—Rick Hooker, Bryan Jenkins, Andrew Wick, David Sharp and Larry Hill—who have endeavored tirelessly to make our dream a reality. We are also thankful for our investor group led by Propeller Investments. They have been both patient and faithful. And we appreciate the folks at ALOFT AeroArchitects who provided engineering and program management during the FAA STC effort.

It takes a great deal of faith and hard work to keep a dream alive. There is more work to be done, and we are grateful to all of you who have encouraged and prayed for us during this journey. 
Charles’ favorite verse has kept us inspired to keep on, keeping on.
Isaiah 40:31 English Standard Version (ESV)
“ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.”

7 comments:

  1. CONGRATULATIONS CHARLES AND FRIEDA and the whole company. It does take a lot to keep a dream alive... you exercised your hard work and faith in the Lord. Amen to that favorite verse, Charles! You know what it is to keep walking, running and not faint in spite of the forever delays! The Lord is worth waiting for! Carleen and Ken

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations! Thankful your dreams were realized and God rewarded your prayers and perseverance with success.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Praise God for His bounteous goodness! Congratulations to two "late bloomers" for the fulfillment of your dream after eight years of hard work, perseverance, and faith!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How awesome! I'm so excited for you both. Woo-hoo!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations!! What a wonderful accomplishment!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations Charles and Frieda. I know you have both worked so hard to make this happen. YAH...so can you retire now? I hope so. God bless you both.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congratulations to you and Charles on a great accomplishment!

    ReplyDelete