BERKELEY – Jessica Cox Chamberlain slowly circled the airplane, imagining what it would feel like to take off in it.
Born without arms, Jessica has spent much of her life proving that physical limitations do not define a person’s potential. In 2008, she became the world’s first licensed armless pilot, flying an airplane entirely with her feet. Now, standing inside a hangar at Ocean County Airport, she smiled as she admired The Impossible Airplane, a custom-built Van’s RV-10 built through years of volunteer craftsmanship and engineering innovation.
“It started off literally in crates and thousands of rivets,” she said as she led reporters around the aircraft before a celebration. “It’s amazing to me.”
Jessica’s eyes lit up as she imagined what it would feel like to fly it. “I used to cruise at 85,” she said of the vintage Ercoupe she currently flies. “Can you imagine just doubling the speed? I mean, more than double. It’s going to be like a fast, fast car.”
For more than four years, members of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 898 have devoted more than 2,000 volunteer hours to building The Impossible Airplane, which will become the first aircraft in aviation history specifically designed to be flown entirely with a pilot’s feet. The recent gathering marked the completion of the New Jersey phase of the project before the airplane heads to Arizona for final assembly, testing and installation of specialized foot-operated controls.
A plaque mounted on the fuselage bears the names of the volunteers who spent countless evenings and weekends assembling the aircraft. Jessica proudly noted their names will remain with The Impossible Airplane wherever it travels.
An Unexpected Beginning
The celebration marked another milestone in a story first introduced to local readers in 2023. At that time, Jessica and her husband, Patrick Chamberlain, had traveled to New Jersey after damage to Jessica’s vintage airplane at JFK Airport unexpectedly connected them with EAA Chapter 898. A conversation with chapter member Gene Bunt led them to Dr. Robert Newman, who agreed to lead the ambitious project.
Under Newman’s direction, roughly 20 volunteers contributed to the build over the years, gathering on Wednesday evenings, Saturdays and additional work sessions to transform thousands of individual pieces into an almost completed airplane.
“We’re nearly finished with what we can do here,” Newman said. “It needs to be fully assembled. The wings have to be put on, and all the systems have to be rechecked.”
He noted that the airplane is capable of cruising at approximately 170 knots, roughly twice the speed of Jessica’s original aircraft, and represents an estimated $250,000 project, with virtually all of the labor donated by volunteers.
More Than An Airplane
Jessica’s excitement shifted to heartfelt gratitude. “When we came up here… I just couldn’t believe seeing this airplane and seeing the dream of the airplane,” she told the group. “I had each and every single one of you to thank for your countless hours, for your blood, sweat and tears.”
Looking around the hangar, Jessica said the volunteers themselves impressed her even more than the airplane. “I am so incredibly grateful for this community,” she said. “We travel the country. We travel the world. I don’t see community like this.”
Although The Impossible Airplane represents an extraordinary achievement in aviation, Jessica said its true purpose has little to do with flying. She and Patrick plan to use it through Rightfooted Foundation International to visit schools, aviation events and disability communities, encouraging children and others facing obstacles to believe they are capable of more than they imagine.
“If I can fly a plane with my feet, and if this amazing team of people can come together to build something hour after hour, year after year… then nothing is impossible,” she said. “Together we can do incredible things to show what is possible.”
Patrick reminded the audience how unlikely the project once seemed.
After Jessica’s airplane was damaged at JFK Airport, they contacted Gene Bunt looking for help. During one conversation, they mentioned what Patrick described as their “really crazy idea” for a custom airplane.
Gene said, ‘I might know a guy,’ Patrick recalled. That introduction eventually led them to Newman and EAA Chapter 898.
Patrick estimated the airplane might not have been completed until around 2032 had they attempted the project alone. “You’ve helped us get to this point far sooner than we could do on our own,” he said. “There’s so many more people and kids that Jessica’s going to meet because of it.”
A Personal Thank You
Newman said the volunteers received as much from the project as they gave. “The building of this aircraft has done so many great things for so many of us,” he said. “This has been a win-win for all of us.”
He credited the chapter’s volunteers for showing up week after week, regardless of the weather, and said the project strengthened the organization while laying the groundwork for future aircraft builds and scholarship opportunities for aspiring aviators.
Rather than simply thanking the volunteers from the podium, Jessica sat down, removed her shoe and began signing personalized Rightfooted Foundation certificates for every person who had helped build The Impossible Airplane.
“The least I can do is take my shoes off and sign all of these certificates with your names on it,” she said. “I’m going to sign all of these with my right foot because I am right-footed.”
Each signature served as a personal acknowledgment of the hours the volunteers had invested and reinforced the same lesson the airplane itself is meant to teach – that ability is often defined by determination rather than circumstance.
Before leaving, Jessica promised the volunteers they would see The Impossible Airplane again.
Once the specialized controls are installed, the final assembly completed and flight testing finished in Arizona, she plans to return to Ocean County Airport at the controls of the airplane they helped build. When that day comes, the aircraft will carry more than its pilot. It will carry with it the names engraved on its dedication plaque and the generosity of the volunteers whose belief in one woman’s dream made aviation history possible.
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