Aircraft built by Fostoria high school students takes shape |
 |
 |
|
Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
|
|
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 01:00 |
FOSTORIA—Physics students from Fostoria St. Wendelin High School have started construction on an airplane that will play a key role in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first transcontinental flight.
|
| From left, St. Wendelin students Chelsea Davidson, Katelyn Schiever and Rodney Park work on the airplane that will be used to film a reenactment of the first transcontinental flight. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke) |
A $10,000 Toyota Tapestry grant enabled the school’s science department to purchase the Challenger light sport aircraft, and students began assembling it under the guidance of science teacher Ron Bowerman in June.
Two years from now, the ultralight aircraft they are building will serve as a chase plane to film a reenactment of the historic flight taken by the Vin Fiz, the plane Calbraith Perry Rodgers used to cross the United States in 1911.
After that it is to be sent to Kenya, Africa, to be used by the Sisters of Notre Dame in their missionary work.
The proposal for the reenactment comes from the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company of Dayton, an educational foundation dedicated to sharing the history behind the Wright Brothers and their airplanes. Mr. Bowerman serves as the company’s volunteer director of special projects and as a trustee for the affiliated, nonprofit First-To-Fly Foundation.
In past years, his physics students have built ribs for replicas of other aircraft designed by the Wright Brothers.
The teacher has used aviation to illustrate the principles of physics throughout his teaching career, and he designed a course for students to earn school science credit in conjunction with working on the airplane this summer.
Mr. Bowerman is teaching the course for free and the school is not charging the students to take it for credit.
Since June, about 12 students ranging from freshmen to seniors have been working on the aircraft two days a week in shifts. Some are doing it to earn the credit, while others are simply volunteering.
On a recent afternoon in July, six teenagers brandishing an array of tools stood clustered around the skeleton of the aircraft as they worked together to install a compartment for the fuel tank.
“Talk about engaged — these kids are engaged,” said Mr. Bowerman, watching their progress from nearby.
The teacher offers instruction to the students as they work, but also encourages them to figure out their own solutions to problems they encounter.
His teaching philosophy is summed up by a quote from John Dewey he used on the front page of his course information packet: “Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.”
“That’s me,” said Mr. Bowerman, pointing to the quote. “That’s where I’m coming from. And I have for years.”
Mr. Bowerman, who said he has “loved airplanes since day one,” explained he teaches physics through the lens of aviation because the subject can be used to explain “every Newtonian law.”
|
| Teacher Ron Bowerman looks on as St. Wendelin freshman Rodney Park works on the airplane that will be used to film a reenactment of the first transcontinental flight. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke) |
In addition to constructing the plane, his summer course includes lectures, demonstrations with his radio control plane and other hands-on activities, like assembling a paper model of the ARES airplane NASA designed to explore Mars.
Once the students create their model using the plans available on NASA’s Web site, they must design an experiment to demonstrate their knowledge of lift, thrust, drag or gravity and its effect on flight.
There are no tests this summer, Mr. Bowerman noted. Grades are based on performance and a 2,500-word final paper.
One reason Katelyn Schiever gave for wanting to help build the plane is that it is scheduled to fly the year she graduates.
The experience has been “better than I expected,” added Katelyn, a junior at St. Wendelin who said she loves school, learning and working with her hands.
“It’s incorporated things that I love into science, so I’m learning stuff too,” she said. “So it’s a great experience.”
Drilling, riveting, sanding and making precise measurements are just some of the skills students say they have learned.
“I had to learn everything, pretty much. I never knew how to use power tools,” said Christina Arnold, an incoming freshman.
Mr. Bowerman said work on the airplane is to continue in his classes during the upcoming school year, and his students will also build ribs for the actual Vin Fiz replica.
Construction on the chase plane must be complete by the end of the grant cycle in May 2010.
The $10,000 grant covered the cost of almost all supplies since St. Wendelin was able to purchase the aircraft kit at a 50 percent discount from the Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corporation. The only thing still needed to finish the plane is a Rotax 503 engine.
Once it is built, the teacher said they are to begin flying it and testing it.
Mike Schroeter, a 1984 St. Wendelin graduate who now serves as chief software engineer for simulation at Microsoft, is writing software for a flight simulator for the plane.
Others helping with the project include Mike Kramb, an engineer who is also a St. Wendelin graduate, and Adam Flick, an aeronautical engineer and former student of Mr. Bowerman who is acting as a consultant.
The plane is being built and stored at A & L Compaction, a company owned by St. Wendelin parishioners Al and Lis Leibengood.
The project is one Mr. Bowerman expects to have a lasting impact at St. Wendelin.
“Even when the airplane is gone, that still doesn’t matter because the knowledge and experiences are still there to be shared,” he said.
|
|
Last Updated on Friday, 17 June 2011 18:02 |
|
|
