Students in the plane-building program at Lebanon High School in New Hampshire, which launched in September 2024, build their first two-seat Van's RV-12iS all-metal aircraft. [Courtesy: Jeff Rapsis/ Aviation Museum of New Hampshire]
Key Takeaways:
Tango Flight is a nonprofit organization that partners with high schools to engage students in building airworthy Van's RV-12 kitplanes, typically over two years.
The program uses STEM concepts to provide hands-on experience, aiming to inspire students toward careers as engineers, pilots, and aviation technicians.
Completed aircraft are sold, with the proceeds funding the purchase of the next kit, making the programs largely self-sustaining after initial setup costs.
Organizations like the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire facilitate these programs by coordinating fundraising, recruiting volunteer mentors, and supervising the builds in participating schools.
If you are of a certain age, the projects in high school shop classes were likely building bird houses, ashtrays and—if you were really lucky—working on a car.
Can you imagine how different high school would have been if shop class focused on building an airplane?
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
