Airplane Building
A student built airplane is just one example of the hands-on experiential learning opportunities students enjoy at Сonsortium schools. During the school year, students construct a plane, working with a talented volunteer team of aviation and engineering experts.
A student-built airplane, a Piper Cub, took to the skies on Saturday, November 19, 2005, at the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, near San Francisco, California.
In building this airplane, 83 Middle and Upper School students at Athenian School contributed to building the two-seat Piper Cub-style airplane. Students worked after school in a hangar built at the school to construct the 22-foot-long plane, which has a 36-foot wingspan. They did wood and metal working, put in the controls and even disassembled the used 135-horsepower engine before it was professionally rebuilt. The plane holds two 12-gallon gas tanks and flies at approximately 100 mph. The plane passed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspection, completing 25 more solo hours of flight before it could carry passengers.
Participating Schools
- Athenian School