EAA Chapter 976 was formed in the latter part of 1990, but the idea went back a little before that time. You see, Al Fowler taught a Sunday School Class in Douglasville and guess who happened to be in that class. That’s right, Tom Howard, Hal Coonley and Don Bowlick. They say that the Chapter was not planned in that class, but no one really believes them. It was in that class along with several flying trips that EAA Chapter 976 was hatched. Chuck Pease and Hal Coonley volunteered the use of the Possom Works at W. Ga. Regional Airport for chapter meetings and Tom Howard was the connection with EAA National.

Only 13 people actually paid their dues that first year and became the Charter Members. The chapter had no permanent home, had no assets and very little money, but the enthusiasm was high. We did not really know what direction to take, but we really had a good time.

The chapter did most of the work for the first ever Airport Open House, but when it was all over, the chapter received no monetary gain from the event. We made a vow that we would be the sole sponsor of all future events and receive the benefit of our hard work.

In the third year of the chapter, Barry Davis presented an idea for an Aviation Learning Center to pass on aviation education to future generations and this gave us a mission to accomplish. We did not realize at the time, that it would take almost 15 years to accomplish our goal. In the 90’s we had Airshows every year with as many as 21 performers flying aerobatics during each show. All performers donated 100% of their fees to the building fund. Even though it rained-out nearly every event, we had several very successful airshows and raised a lot of money for our Learning Center.

We purchased our EAA trailer to store and move our tables, chairs and grill and became a mobile chapter. We had meetings in different locations, but always for a purpose. Several of the guys would camp out at a grass strip and cook BBQ all night long for a chapter feast and fly-in the next day.

Our chapter had a lot of field trips including, Gulfstream in Savannah, Museum at Warner Robins, Maule, Zenith Aircraft, Anniston Radio, Blue Angles in Pensacola, Splash-Ins at Wedowee, Train Trips, EAA Fun Cruises, Bell Weekends, Sun n Fun, Airventure, Atlanta Center and the Hartsfield Tower. We had some campouts at Thomasville, Evergreen, Urbana and Etowah Bend. Poker Runs and treasure hunts along with homebuilding demos and welding classes rounded out our activities. We have never lacked for fun activities.

After we acquired our Learning Center, we started a series of theme parties with Cowboy Night, Military Evening, a 50’s street dance and the famous Talent Shows. Saturday Morning Hangouts were the norm for several years.

Several improvements were made to the Learning Center with more to be made including our latest project of turning a Cessna 337 into a flight simulator for all to enjoy.

From our humble beginnings, we have become a great EAA Chapter with over 100 members.