A middle school field trip to ACI Jet at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, led to an agreement—inked entirely between two tweens who met at the event—to base a Dassault Falcon 900 at the FBO. Sixth graders Gavin and Jake [Ed. note: last names were withheld by ACI Jet since they are minors] drafted the hangar agreement soon after realizing an aviation connection during the field trip. Jake is the son of an ACI Jet manager and Gavin the grandson of John Dahlberg, the owner of the Falcon 900.

The process involved support documentation from ACI Jet and the jet owner, but the boys took full ownership of the initiative. “It quickly became very real when Gavin and Jake were granted the authority by their respective parents and grandparents to make the deal happen,” said ACI Jet president William Borgsmiller.

“While a school field trip to an airport is anything but run-of-the-mill, Gavin and Jake took the opportunity to learn more about aviation and airports to heart,” former Orange County supervisor Jim Silva said at the signing ceremony. “It’s inspiring and instructive, and it demonstrates what can come out of an education partnership between our schools and the aviation community.”

ACI Jet SNA general manager Joe Daichendt confirmed that the tweens negotiated the agreement themselves. “The signing ceremony helped illustrate that the parents and grandparents truly had not been involved in the hangar deal behind the scenes, because it was first time we actually met the client in person,” he said.