Young Guns. University of North Dakota’s entrepreneur programs churn out innovative go-getters

Mike Shope had a need, so he invented a fix.

In 2002, the UND aviation student, was training for a more advanced pilot’s rating on his license, and he needed a way to read his flight logs and other paperwork in a dark cockpit without ruining his night vision and interfering with his work.

He couldn’t find anything that worked in stores apart from bulky hand-held flashlights, so he designed his own remedy from parts he bought at Radio Shack.

The crude but handy light, with three night-vision-saving colors, clipped to his headgear and could be turned on and off quickly with the flick of a switch.

Soon, Shope’s pilot buddies saw the innovation and asked how they could get their own. The demand grew and Shope found himself gluing and soldering more than 500 of the special lights by hand in his UND fraternity house.

Today, Shope, 24, is a UND graduate and has moved back to his native Seattle, but his bright idea has stuck with him and has become a full-fledged business.

"The lights are now carried in a couple hundred pilot shops across the country," Shope said.

By David Dodds
Herald Staff Writer

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