Thursday, April 25, 2024
GHS aviation program gives students wings
High school crew gain valuable experience in assembly of airplane kit inside school garage
Granbury High School students will soon be able to soar the skies of Hood County with recent approval from the Texas Education Agency for incorporating an aviation program in the district.
As part of the Career and Technical Education program (CTE), Aviation will have a full four-year sequence of courses beginning with the 2021-22 school year.
“This is incredible news as we continue to prepare students for college, careers, and the military. We are extremely excited to begin this program of study at Granbury High School,” CTE director Jimmy Dawson said. “Not only will we be helping students become private pilots, but we will also be teaching students how to fly unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.”
EAGLE’S NEST PROJECT
New courses in the Aviation program will build upon the Eagle’s Nest Project, a program that was incorporated in 2016 and provided students with a complete airplane kit — Van’s RV-12 — for students to assemble. The entire process from start to finish took about eight months, with the first student-built airplane taking flight in October 2017.
“Eagle’s Nest has given us outstanding opportunities for our students to help build an airplane, and now it’s time for us to take it to the next level with students learning how to fly,” Dawson stated. “Granbury is very fortunate to have a large aviation community that has been very supportive of students learning to fly.”
The plane assembled by the students was stationed at the Granbury Regional Airport for two years. GHS aviation students were eligible to receive up to 20 hours of free flight instruction in the aircraft that they built.
LEARNING AND FLYING
Now, GHS students will get the opportunity to both learn about and fly airplanes, all while receiving credits with this new aviation program.
Aviation mentors will continue helping aerospace engineering students build another Van’s RV-12 airplane. In addition, some mentors will assist with flight instruction.
“This new program of study reminds of us of the amazing learning opportunities that GISD students have through career and technical education,” GISD Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Glenn noted. “We know that these aviation courses will provide another unique pathway for students to pursue a rigorous program that could serve as their career option.”
AVIATION PROGRAM INFO
Courses for the aviation program include:
• Introduction to Aerospace and Aviation
• Introduction to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
• Aviation Ground School
• Aerospace Engineering
• Practicum in Transportation Systems
Mark Kirk, instructor for the GHS aviation and aerospace classes, said students will learn about topics like aerodynamics, forces of flight, navigation, communications, weather, flight planning and FAA regulations.
BEST CTE PROGRAM
Kirk said GHS has the “best CTE program and course offerings of any high school in this part of Texas.”
“Our program has received some amazing support from local mentors, sponsorship and donations over the past five years that have led to the success of my students,” he said. “I have had some incredible students come through my classes, many of which are already graduated from college and/or being successful in their early careers.”
GHS SUCCESS STORIES
Bailey Porter is studying Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is scheduled to graduate at the end of this semester. After her second internship with Northrop Grumman, she was offered a full-time position. In August, she will be moving to Utah to work as a systems engineer on the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program — a new missile program for the Air Force.
Will Warner will graduate this spring from the University of Arkansas with a degree in industrial engineering and a minor in data analytics. This summer, he will start full-time as a sustainment engineer for Lockheed Martin working with the Integrated Fighter Group (F-16s and F-22s).
Maxwell Call is currently pursuing his bachelor of science degree in engineering at Rhine Waal University of Applied Science in Germany.
PREPARING FOR TAKEOFF
Kirk encourages any student from eighth through 12th grade to consider signing up for one of the aviation courses when they sit down with a school counselor to register for classes each year.
“(I’m excited to see) students realize that aviation and aerospace are intriguing and exciting career paths that offer a wide variety of options with great potential and stability,” he said.
This regional program of study will initially be in place for four years through the 2024-25 school year before the district will need to submit an application extension.
“I would also like to shout out to a few of the people, companies and organizations that have made our aerospace engineering and aviation science programs among the best in the country,” Kirk said. “I would like to shout out Eagle’s Nest Project for supporting our program and providing us with Van’s RV12 kits to build as my students learn about the fundaments of aerospace engineering and aviation. We are almost finished with our third airplane.”
