I Learned Early that Adventure Starts in the Driveway
A Father's Day Tribute by Tres Clements, Aerocrafted Founder
Tres with Dad and Nephew in front of Rutan Boomerang
One week it was a control-line airplane that nipped my fingers, the next a hot-air-balloon envelope spread across a frozen field, and later a dune-buggy frame we welded together late on a Sunday night. Whatever the project, Dad never doubted we could make it work.
If a tool didn’t exist, he made one. If something failed on the side of the road, he reached into his pocket and brought it back to life... with a few colorful words for encouragement.
- That pocket was his traveling workbench.
- A screwdriver ground to fit an odd recess
- Pliers thinned for tight clearances
- A crescent wrench polished smooth
- A pocket knife
- Nail clippers pressed into service as a deburring tool
- And a pen for the logbook
Trusted tools. Each modified until it was perfect. Long before anyone called it “Everyday Carry,” he treated them like trusted crew members.
The Legacy In His Pocket
With those few tools, he earned his Airframe and Powerplant license and kept airplanes, washing machines, and half the neighborhood running. That image — the tools, the way he carried them — followed me to college, into every job, and now into Aerocrafted.
Every product we release has to answer one question:
Would it earn space in Dad's pocket?
If yes, it ships. If not, we keep refining.
We're still chasing the design for that compact screwdriver he never quite found.
Carry It Forward
This Father’s Day, we honor every parent who passed down that spark: to fix what others abandon, to carry tools that earn their place, and to be proud of what your hands can create.
If our gear helps you carry that legacy forward, we’ve done our job.
→ Shop Tools That Earn Their Place