Rightfooted Foundation

It's difficult to convey how big a milestone this is! The engine of The Impossible Airplane has been mounted. This is a 260-horsepower milestone!

Special thanks to everyone who has supported this project, especially Lycoming Engines for donating the heart of this airplane. Of course, we will be eternally grateful to the build team at EAA Chapter 898.

Thank you all for the support, and we can't wait to see this airplane begin its mission to show that disability doesn't mean inability!

I have a heart now.

After years of rivets, rebuilds, planning, patience, and more “well, that’s one more thing to solve” moments than I can count, my Lycoming IO-540 engine has officially been mounted.

That is not just hardware hanging on my nose. That is 260 horsepower of donated belief from Lycoming Engines, installed by the amazing hands and minds of EAA Chapter 898 — the same team that has helped carry me from an impossible idea toward a runway.

Every major milestone brings us closer to proving something bigger than flight itself:

Disability doesn’t mean inability.

To Lycoming: thank you for giving me my heartbeat.

To EAA Chapter 898: thank you for helping me grow into the mission I was built for.

Next up: seeing what I look like with a Hartzell Propeller mounted out front. I have a feeling my nose is about to get a lot more aerodynamic.

Adaptation is learned. Inclusion is rethinking the path.

Jessica Cox was recently interviewed on the ATA Nation Podcast by Sr. Master Hayden, where they talked about adaptive Taekwondo, growing up without arms, and the skills Jessica built along the way.

One of the most powerful ideas from the conversation: being adaptive is like a muscle. It gets stronger with practice.

For Jessica, Taekwondo was one place where that muscle grew. When a movement required arms, her instructors and community did not lower the standard. They rethought the path. A punch could become a knee strike. A form could be adapted while still honoring the purpose behind the movement.

That is what real inclusion looks like.

At Rightfooted Foundation, we believe people without arms deserve tools, mentorship, and communities that help them build independence with dignity. Not by asking less of them, but by creating better pathways for them to thrive.

Listen to Jessica’s conversation on the ATA Nation Podcast here: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/1ecad49a-783e-430d-95c2-33a1d01e2c1e

And if you're thinking about also doing Taekwondo without arms or any upper limb difference, our Inclusive Engineering Director, Patrick Chamberlain, can help you and your local instructor on that path and kickstart your training!

ATA Martial Arts

Ep. 199 - Inspiring Triumphs: A Journey Beyond Limitations Quickly and easily listen to The ATA Nation Podcast for free!