Student plane-build program adds two new destinations
Mar. 24—The next phase in a successful student plane-build program is taxiing toward takeoff at two new locations in the Granite State.
The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire is expanding its high school student aircraft-building program to Lebanon High School in the Upper Valley and Farmington High School near the Maine border.
Students in Lebanon will start building an aircraft in September 2024, while Farmington students will get to work on the project a year later, in September 2025.
The plane-building programs are similar to one the museum launched in 2019 at Manchester School of Technology (MST). Students work with mentors to build a Van's RV-12iS two-seat light sport aircraft.
Lebanon school officials have selected students and are working to prepare a plane-building workshop area. Early Friday, about 14 students and a half-dozen faculty members made the 75-minute trip down to MST in the Queen City to see the plane-building workshop up close and in person.
Jeff Sullivan, a full-time aviation Career and Technical Education instructor at MST, served as lead mentor on his school's build.
"Who would have ever thought that you'd be building a plane in high school?" he asked Lebanon students Friday. "When I was in high school, I built an ashtray."
Although students build the aircraft, all flying is done by licensed and qualified pilots provided by the Aviation Museum and Tango Flight.
Kyle Hines, a Lebanon High junior, is one of those students selected. At 17, he already has a student pilot's license (which means he can fly alone in a plane), and is working on acquiring his private license. He loves the idea of piloting an aircraft he had a hand in building.
His eyes lit up as he entered the MST workshop and spotted partially-constructed portions of a cockpit and right wing of a plane, and "It would make me understand what I'm really doing when I fly it," Hines said. "I feel like right now I can be in a simulator, but I don't understand the plane itself. I can just get in the seat and take off. But once I get to see what's inside, it's going to open a whole different perspective."
Dylan Moore, a sophomore, hopes to take to the skies himself one day.
"I've always loved planes," Moore said. "I've always loved riding in planes and when I get older I probably will want to fly planes."
Sky's the limit
Both Lebanon and Farmington were selected after a statewide search by the Aviation Museum. The aircraft will be built at each school, then brought to a local airport for final testing, certification and first flights.
Lebanon, a four-year academic high school enrolling just over 600 students, is transforming a three-bay garage on school grounds into the school's plane-building workshop. Upon completion, the student-built aircraft will do its test flights out of Lebanon Municipal Airport.
Bonnie Robinson, curriculum director at Lebanon High, said the reaction to news of the program's impending takeoff has been "pretty unbelievable."
"We had an informational meeting in the library, and between kids, parents and members of the public we probably had 75 people, so right from the start there's been a lot of interest," Robinson said. "I knew Kyle (Hines) had an interest in aviation, and I always like to include student voices so I called him down and said 'we have an opportunity to build a plane.'
"It's not an everyday conversation."
Farmington High School, among the state's smallest, enrolls just 200 students in four grades, but has a newly renovated workshop space where the plane-build will be housed. Test flights are expected to take place out of nearby Skyhaven Airport in Rochester.
Working with faculty and guided by experienced volunteer mentors from the community, students at each school will take about two years to complete an aircraft. After being certified as airworthy, the finished aircraft is sold on the open market, with proceeds to be used to fund the next aircraft build.
The plane-building program at MST, now in its second round, is free and open to students of high school age who meet basic requirements. Participants can come from home schooling environments, private or charter schools, and public schools both inside and outside the Manchester School District.
When launched in 2019, the MST/Aviation Museum joint effort was only the fourth of its kind in the nation, and the only one in the Northeast.
The first airplane in the program was completed in August 2022. It has since made appearances at schools, museums, and at science, technology, engineering and math education events, and has been flown in Atlanta, Georgia.
Startup funding of $350,000 was provided by local businesses, with organizers touting the fact the program hasn't cost the school district "a dime."
Construction on the program's second airplane began at the start of the 2022-23 school year.
Program spreads its wings
Jeff Rapsis, executive director of the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (based at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport), said he's "delighted" to bring the experience of building a real airplane to students in other parts of the state.
"To now welcome another school into this program is a real thrill for us, kind of like the fulfillment of a years-long dream," Rapsis said. "I almost get a little choked up thinking about it."
Funds are raised via donations from the local business and aerospace community, grants, and individual contributions. The Lebanon plane-build recently was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Byrne Foundation in support of the school's plane-building program, which has been dubbed "Take Flight."
To administer the program, the museum partners with Tango Flight, a Texas-based educational nonprofit that facilitates student plane-building programs in several states.
Tango Flight provides expertise on the build, as well as a two-year academic curriculum for schools to use as part of the project.
Davian Yagual, a senior at MST now on his second plane build, had a few words of wisdom for those in the Lebanon and Farmington programs.
"Take your time, look at the plans, and pay attention," Yagual said. "Ask a mentor about anything, and if you don't feel comfortable doing something say so, and work with a mentor to find what you do feel comfortable with."
More information about the Aviation Museum's high school plane-building program, and each of the schools involved, can be found on the "Education" area of the museum's website at aviationmuseumofnh.org.
