Since before Icarus dipped his first pair of wings, man has envied the ability of the bird. The local Experimental Aircraft Association #1378 has Icarus beaten handily on technology.The EAA held a meeting at Smithville Municipal Airport Saturday, with food, live music, good company and plenty of home-built mechanical birds that need not fear the sun.According to Wayne Hubbs, President of EAA #1378, the enthusiast built beauties are are a marvel of grass-roots ingenuity, and a great deal of good, old-fashioned craftsmanship goes into the creation of these machines.“I actually design and sell a part for the gyrocopters,” Hubbs told the Review. “The factory part was adequate, I’m sure, but many people feel that the original part is too flexible, so I designed a replacement machined from 6061 T-6 aircraft aluminum, which is much stronger than the original.”Roth Terrell, a member of the Airport Board at Smithville Municipal, who flies the Cirrus SR-22 owned by Regal Craft Kitchens said that the facility is great for the enthusiast, but that the commercial services at the airport are top notch as well.“People should be aware that their tax dollars are not going to waste out here,” Terrell said, “The airport is basically self-sustaining, and it is a valuable asset to our community.