Plane Powered by Rubber Bands

L O S   A N G E L E S, July 1 -- Most children have played with a rubberband-powered airplane. George Heaven hopes to be the first personto fly in one.

Heaven and his team of 40 volunteers have spent more than sixyears building the 33-foot Rubber Bandit in a hangar at Van NuysAirport.

The team hopes to gain FAA approval after a secret test flightsometime this month. Heaven, 47, an aeronautical engineer and stuntpilot who designed the Rubber Bandit, plans a public flight inSeptember.

The plane is designed to fly at an altitude of only 100 feet,and the first flight may last only one minute. The Rubber Bandit ispowered by a 20-foot long pack of rubber bands. It started as aradio show gag in 1994.

More than $500,000 in contributions and sponsorships have beenattracted by the Rubber Bandit, but Heaven is still trying to raisefunds.