High School Students in Connecticut Take Flight in Airplane They Helped Build

Jul. 22—STRATFORD — A handful of Bassick High School students watched with anticipation Monday morning as a single-propeller plane raced down a runway at Sikorsky Memorial Airport and lifted into the sky.

Actually, the plane flew multiple times, and, each time, one of its passengers was a student who helped construct it. The flights marked the culmination of three years of work by about a dozen of Bassick students who built the small two-seat aircraft as part of a program sponsored by local aviation enthusiasts.

Tiany Perez, a former student who worked on the plane before graduating last year, said the unique class, known as Tango Flight, may have helped change the trajectory of her life.

The 21-year-old is now looking to pursue a career in aviation, a life path that she had never considered before a shop instructor convinced her to enroll in the program during her final years in school.

"I really found my passion," Perez said. "I did not think it would be building an aircraft. But I absolutely fell in love with it."

That was not always the case. Perez said she remembers being largely disinterested in the class at first. But at the encouragement of the mentors who helped run the class, she kept with it.

"One morning, I woke up and I came to the conclusion that not many students have an opportunity to build an aircraft in their school," she said. "So I went to the classroom and I just started working."

Perez soon found herself enjoying putting together what was essentially a life-sized puzzle, one that required careful precision and a knack for keeping track of important details. She is immensely proud of the final product, so much so that she decided to get a tattoo of the aircraft's official tail number.

The program — the first of its kind offered to students at an urban school system in the country — was sponsored by First Flight Aviation, a Westport-based aircraft services and repair company.

CEO Aaron Hollander said he was inspired to bring the classes to Connecticut after reading about successful courses at Texas high schools and elsewhere. He noted about 40 schools are expected to offer the program this fall amid a rapid expansion.

"The concept really was to introduce STEM in a fun learning environment," he said, referring to science, technology, engineering and math. "It's a lot easier to learn when you're having fun and it's a lot easier to learn when it's just part of the process."

The aircraft, a Van's RV-12, was constructed using a kit with the help of volunteer mentors, a group made up of aviation hobbyists experienced in airplane construction. Hollander said about 36 students participated in the hands-on program.

Brenda Ranzha, a Bassick student who graduated this year, said the program has helped foster a growing interest in the engineering field. She said she plans to study the discipline when she enrolls at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus this fall.

"Not everyone can say 'Hey, I helped build an airplane,' " Ranzha, 19, said. "Everything has been really engaging. It's really opened a lot of opportunities for me, and I think I would love to continue working on similar projects in the future."

David Paqua, a licensed aircraft mechanic, served as one of the course's mentors. He said his job largely consisted of explaining the myriad aircraft parts, where they fit together and how they work with neighboring equipment.

He also oversaw the students as they slowly assembled the pieces together over the course of three years, starting with the aircraft's tail and wings before moving to the front half and the rear of the fuselage.

"In airplane construction, you build all the little stuff, and then the little stuff starts getting bigger and bigger," Paqua said. "The next thing you know you have a 12-foot-long airplane sitting in your workshop."

Perez said she is grateful to Hollander, Paqua and the other volunteers who helped lead the program. In addition to the technical skills she acquired, she also feels more confident working alongside her peers.

Perez said she is now hoping to get an aviation mechanics license from the Federal Aviation Administration and has dreams of one day working for local manufacturers such as Sikorsky Aircraft.

"I came from nothing and I didn't expect to have this type of support," she said. "Aaron and my mentors have helped me tremendously. They're one of the reasons why I'm taking it further. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I'd be where I'm at right now."

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