SALINE: Consortium students head west to build plane - Saline Reporter - Heritage Newspapers

Saline CAD Students Spread Wings, Flying West to Construct Airplane

Summer of their lives: Mich., Minn. teens to build Glasair

High school students in Saline, Mich., and Canby, Minn., learned May 9 that they are about to embark on an action-packed summer vacation. The eight students are the winners of a nationwide aviation design challenge competition sponsored by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Build A Plane.
The students, along with two teachers and two chaperones, will head to the Glasair Aviation headquarters in Arlington, Wash. Beginning June 17, they’ll spend two weeks building two Glasair Sportsman 2+2s, guided by Glasair staff as part of the company’s Two Weeks to Taxi program. The goal is get the airplanes tested and flyable in time to travel to EAA AirVenture, which kicks off July 29.
Students at Saline High School, Saline, Mich., and Canby High School, Canby, Minn., submitted the winning designs out of a field of 27 schools in 22 states. The schools used “Learn to Fly” software that allowed them to design and test fly a virtual aircraft. The designs were put to a virtual fly-off and scored on aerodynamic and performance parameters.
The team from Saline, Mich., had never attempted an aeronautical design in their computer-assisted design/computer-aided manufacturing pre-engineering class, but that didn’t stop them from taking on the challenge. Instructor Ed Redies said the team worked on the contest throughout the month of April. “The kids were so excited” and their proud instructor was “jumping out of my skin” when they learned they had won, he said. The Saline team includes Julia Garner, Kyle LaBombarbe, Lee Luckhardt, and Aidan Muir.
Redies may be especially suited to lead his team in the project. A private pilot and AOPA member, he traveled to Washington in 2011 to build his own Glasair Sportsman 2+2, which he now flies from a 1,500-foot grass strip behind his home.
Canby’s team—John Deslauriers, Wyatt Johansen, Leah Schmitt, and Brandon Stripling—are enrolled in an elective course in which students complete private pilot ground school and can take a knowledge test at its conclusion. Designing an airplane gave the students hands-on experience with some of the principles they study, according to instructor Dan Lutgen.
Canby’s design used an RV-10 as its jumping-off point. Successfully flying their design in a simulator proved to be the one of the toughest parts of the process, but was also the most fun, the students said.
“To see the skills, ingenuity, and creativity these students demonstrated in this competition gives me great confidence in the future of our industry’s engineering, maintenance, and pilot workforce,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said in a news release. “This valuable experience promotes the real-world value of [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] education, as well as the career opportunities available in the aerospace engineering field.”
The winning teams receive roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations, meals, and field trips to the Boeing Aircraft Factory and the Museum of Flight in Seattle—a busy schedule as they roll up their sleeves and begin assembling the metal and composite 2+2s. Glasair employees will be on hand to assist, which Glasair President Nigel Mott called “a great mentoring opportunity for our team and a wonderful learning opportunity for these students.” Build A Plane President Lyn Freeman said the students’ progression from designing a virtual aircraft to building a real one will boost their confidence and hopefully shape their future.
Technical Editor Jill W. Tallman will be chronicling the projects. Look for updates on AOPA Online and in the Reporting Points blog, as well as an article in an upcoming issue of AOPA Pilot. You also can follow the students’ progress on GAMA’s Facebook page.

GAMA & Build a Plane 2013 Aviation Design Challenge

GAMA and Build A Plane Announce Winners of Nationwide Aviation STEM Competition Planes built by high school students to be featured at AirVenture 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C.—The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and Build A Plane announced today that Canby High School in Canby, Minnesota, and Saline High School in Saline, Michigan are the winners of its nationwide Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) aviation design challenge competition. Each winning team—consisting of four students, along with the teacher and a chaperone—will receive all-expense-paid trips to Glasair Aviation facilities in Arlington, Washington, to build a Glasair Sportsman aircraft over two weeks starting June 17, 2013. In just its first year, the GAMA and Build A Plane competition attracted entries from 27 schools in 22 states. The schools used complimentary “Fly to Learn” software, including curricula and training, which allowed them to design and fly their own virtual airplane. Each school entered a design to compete in a virtual fly-off, which were scored on aerodynamic and performance parameters. Judges from GAMA selected the winning high schools. “To see the skills, ingenuity and creativity these students demonstrated in this competition gives me great confidence in the future of our industry’s engineering, maintenance and pilot workforce,” said GAMA President & CEO Pete Bunce. “This valuable experience promotes the real-world value of STEM education, as well as the career opportunities available in the aerospace engineering field.” Under the guidance of staff from Glasair, Build A Plane and GAMA, each team will build a Glasair Sportsman 2+2, a metal and composite aircraft that seats four adults. Sold as a kit, the plane can be assembled with assistance in just two weeks through Glasair’s well-known “Two Weeks to Taxi” program. The planes are scheduled to be flown to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they will be featured at AirVenture 2013 from July 29-August 4, 2013. “The fact that these students will go from designing virtual airplanes on their computers at school to building real airplanes is no doubt an experience that will boost their confidence and hopefully shape their future,” said Build A Plane President and Founder Lyn Freeman. Glasair is providing staff resources and workspace for the students. In addition to supplies and assistance, each team will receive round-trip airfare, transfers, hotels, meals and field trips to visit the nearby Boeing Aircraft factory and Museum of Flight. “We are very excited to welcome this next generation of airplane enthusiasts to Glasair’s facility to work side by side with our staff as they build their aircraft,” said Nigel Mott, President of Glasair. “It’s a great mentoring opportunity for our team and a wonderful learning opportunity for these students. Watching their planes join the more than 160 Glasair Sportsman that are already flying will be very special.” To follow the progress of the planes as they are built, visit GAMA’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/General.Aviation.Manufacturers.Association. For more information about the organizations involved, please visit BuildAPlane.org, GAMA.aero, GlasairAviation.com, or FlyToLearn.com.