A room full of students take apart the engine of a small airplane, meticulously labeling and packaging each component. They’re taking apart the engine bit by bit to ship it off and be refurbished.
These students are all part of a local program called Build-A-Plane. As the name suggests, the fifteen-year-old program is one of many nationwide that gives students hands-on experience building and repairing planes.
The process begins with buying an old, broken plane. Then the instructors fix the plane with the students before selling the refurbished plane and starting the process over again. With a combination of classroom learning and hands-on time in the shop, the students meet twice a month and learn each step from how to wire the electronics to how to use a rivet gun on the hull.
The program aims to equip kids with the skills needed to get into aviation and engineering. Something many of the students express interest in, like 13-year-old Logan Rohan.
“I really wanna fly when I grow up. I wanna stay in the field of aviation. I think I definitely wanna be a pilot, but I’m not sure if I wanna be a mechanic also,” he said, “if you ever wanna be a mechanic, this is definitely the place to be because teaching you how to build airplanes.”
That’s a sentiment 16-year-old student AJ Rohan shares. He said he was grateful to have access to a program like Build-A-Plane.
“I think a lot of kids our age don’t really get to, you know, experience stuff like this. Aviation is fun.”
For the students interested in aviation, the hours spent in the shop are logged and can go towards their Federal Airframe and Powerplant certification.
Even those students who are unsure whether they want to pursue a career in aviation still learn a lot and have fun along the way.
12-year-old Aurora Smith described what she enjoys about the program.
“I like that they teach us aviation and how to disassemble things and assemble them,” she said, “they show us, and we get to touch and see how things work instead of just telling us.”
Repairing a plane can be a lengthy process. Often years of work are needed before the plane is ready to fly. Sometimes students graduate the program before they get to see their work up in the air, but the technical skills and lessons in teamwork will last them a lifetime.
