CONGRATULATIONS SENIORS

AIRPLANE frompage12 ceeds to buy the next build kit, creating a self sustaining program.

“It’s great for the students to have this hands-on experience,” he said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to build a plane.”

Student leader Ryan Dugger, a senior at Mead High, wants to fly medical evacuation helicopters in the military after studying aeronautics in college. He’s taken all the offered aeronautics classes, which including two ground pilot classes, and now is a teacher’s assistant in the program. Building a plane, he said, “has been a really cool, amazing experience.”

“It’s taught me a lot about how to work as a team,” he said. “If people aren’t communicating and working together, the project is going to fall apart.”

Jayce Scudder, a junior at Frederick High who aspires to be a military fighter pilot, said seeing all the boxes arrive and “being told you’re going to build a plane with this” was a little overwhelming. His favorite part so far was completing the tail after more than a year of work.

“To see it all built into one big piece was the best,” he said. “There are a lot of learning opportuni- ties, mainly in making mistakes and learning how to fix them. It’s certainly a marathon, but knowing that one day it could fly is really inspiring.”

The seniors and juniors working on the project said they’re planning to return in the summer or on school breaks to check on the progress — and hope to see the plane once it’s completed.

“Just knowing I worked on the majority of the plane, that’s pretty awesome,” said Withnell, who is planning to study mechanical engineering in college. “I’ll be passing on the legacy of this project.”