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 non-profit organization that enables high school students to build airworthy Van's RV-12 kitplanes as a hands-on educational experience.
The program applies STEM concepts over approximately two years, aiming to inspire and prepare students for careers as engineers, pilots, and aviation technicians.
While initial program setup costs around $300,000, the sale of completed aircraft funds subsequent kits, making the programs largely self-sustaining over time.
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.
