By John Epley, EAA 1000840, Chapter 455 President
In January, members of Enid High School’s Tango Flight aviation program celebrated the completion of its first airplane at a ceremony in a hangar at the Enid Woodring Regional Airport (WDG). The airplane, a kitbuilt Van’s RV-12, is the first to be completed by a high school class in Oklahoma. Although the number of students involved varied greatly over two and a half years, there were as many as 21 assisting with the build.
“This is a dream coming alive from ground zero to taking flight,” Enid High School Principal Craig Liddell said. “We are so proud of our students who learned by doing.”
Not only was it the first high school airplane built in Oklahoma, officials from Tango Flight and the FAA said it was the best one they have seen built. Tango Flight is a nationwide program created to inspire the next generation of engineers, pilots, aviation mechanics, and technicians. Teacher Jayson Crowley led the Tango Flight program at the high school, with EAA Chapter 455 mentors Ken Hollrah, Richard Hollrah, and Brent Stone working with the students.
Jayson recruited many of the students to join the program, encouraged by his wife Shannon, the Enid Public Schools secondary curriculum director who came up with the idea.
In a Tango Flight program such as this, students learn aviation principles by constructing actual airplanes. The program integrates engineering, science, technology, and math into a practical context. Building an airplane prepares students for careers in aviation, aerospace, and related technical fields.
The students started the project from a kit, and the airplane took over two and a half years to build. The kit was shipped from Van’s Aircraft in Oregon, and arrived in crates of bolts, rivets, and pre-formed aluminum parts.
Once the airplane was completed, an FAA designated examiner came to Enid to inspect the airplane and to issue an airworthiness certificate. Although the airplane was ultimately sold to a college in Texarkana, Texas, it did fly back to Enid so the participating Tango Flight students could see it fly. It will return another time so the students may take a ride in what they created.
The EAA chapter members Ken, Richard, and Brent spent many hours of their free time working with some of the students over the summers to see the airplane to completion.