Second MST Plane-Build Program Taking Flight With Feb. 1 Open House

Jan. 22—The second round of the Manchester School of Technology plane-build program is taking flight.

The Aviation Museum is once again partnering with the Manchester School District and educational consultant Tango Flight to help students with dreams of building real, flyable planes get their careers off the ground. Tango Flight developed and operates high school plane-build programs in several states.

An open house for high schoolers and their families offering details on the plane-building program is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 1. at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry.

The plane-building program, held at the Manchester School of Technology, is free and open to students of high school age who meet basic requirements. Participants can come from home schooling environments, private or charter schools, and public schools both inside and outside the Manchester School District.

"The Open House is a great chance for local families to find out more about the plane-building program," Jeff Rapsis, the Aviation Museum's executive director, said in a statement. "Attendees can speak with faculty and administrators at the Manchester School of Technology, and meet some of our Aviation Museum volunteers."

Families with students at the middle school level are encouraged to attend to find out how to best prepare for acceptance into the plane-build program when they reach high school.

When launched in 2019, the MST/Aviation Museum joint effort was only the fourth of its kind in the nation, and the only one in the Northeast.

The program is designed to give MST engineering students hands-on experience in a range of disciplines, from manufacturing and assembly to aeronautical engineering.

The first airplane in the program, a Van's RV-12iS two-seat light sport aircraft, was completed in August 2022. It has since made appearances at schools, museums, and at science, technology, engineering and math education events, and has been flown in Atlanta, Georgia.

The completed aircraft will be sold on the open market, with the proceeds used to build the next airplane. Startup funding of $350,000 was provided by local businesses, with organizers touting the fact the program hasn't cost the school district "a dime."

Construction on the program's second airplane began this past September, at the start of the 2022-23 school year.

"This is a great way for students to take STEM learning from the classroom and put it to use in the workshop," Rapsis said.

The Van's RV-12iS two-seat light sport aircraft weighs 771 pounds, has a maximum speed of 110 mph and a 100 horsepower engine that runs on the same gasoline used for automobiles.

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