April 24, 2026
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A piece of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University history is taking flight once again, not in the sky, but in the hands of students determined to restore its legacy.
A Pitts S-1C biplane, originally built by an ERAU student in the early 1980s, is being restored by members of the Barefoot Flying Club and Hammerhead Aviation, with hopes to return it to campus as a permanent display in the Student Union or elsewhere on campus.
The aircraft once hung in the John Paul Riddle Student Center from 1986 until the building’s closure, becoming a familiar sight for generations of students. After years in storage and near destruction during the building’s demolition, the plane was recovered and is now undergoing a full restoration led by Charles Suroski, president of the Barefoot Flying Club.
“This airplane is part of Embry-Riddle’s identity,” Suroski said. “It was a legacy project for students in the 1980s, and we’re trying to bring that back and make it part of ours too.”
The plane was originally donated to the university by the family of the student who built it, following his passing. It was first used as a training tool for maintenance students before eventually being repaired and suspended in the student center.
After sitting neglected in storage for years, the aircraft showed significant wear, including structural damage and wood rot. Now, student volunteers are carefully dismantling and rebuilding it, focusing on preserving as much of the original structure as possible while ensuring it is safe for display.
“We’re doing structural analysis, testing materials, and adding reinforcements where needed,” Suroski explained. “The goal is to restore it to its original condition while making sure it lasts for decades.”
The restoration process has also become a hands-on learning experience for students involved. Members are gaining skills in vintage aircraft restoration, including fabric covering — a technique rarely used in modern aviation but essential to older aircraft design.
“It’s something you can’t fully learn in a classroom,” Suroski said. “This gives students real experience they can apply to future projects.”
The project is collaborative in nature, with Hammerhead Aviation leading the restoration and the Barefoot Flying Club providing technical guidance. Students involved include Kurt Seefeldt, Brenden Massaro, Aiden Rice, Henry Dickhans and Zach Terese.
Beyond technical skills, the project represents something larger, a reminder of what students can achieve outside the classroom.
“When people see this plane, I hope it inspires them,” Suroski said. “College isn’t just about going to class and studying. There’s so much more you can do if you go after it.”
During the restoration, students even uncovered remnants of the plane’s past — old homework, pens, and a paper airplane tossed into the cockpit decades ago — small traces of the generations who once walked beneath it.
“It shows that students back then were just like us,” Suroski said. “They were having fun, making memories. Now we get to be part of that story.”
Once completed, the team hopes to donate the aircraft back to the university, with the goal of having it displayed prominently in the Student Union or another campus building.
For Suroski and the team, success to them is about restoring its meaning as much as it is about restoration.
“If one person sees that plane and it inspires them to try something new,” he said, “then we’ve done what we set out to do.”
