2025 SOAR Into STEM Spring Session 1: Principles of Flight

By Carmelo Turdo

High school students from the St. Louis area and neighboring counties participated in the first of four spring sessions of the Wings of Hope SOAR Into STEM Program on Saturday. SOAR Into STEM provides opportunities to apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills in the context of the Wings of Hope humanitarian aviation mission. Topics covered include Airplane Basics, Mechanics and Engineering, Navigation and Communication and Drone/Flight Opportunities.

The students gathered in the Wings of Hope hangar on Saturday morning to begin the introductory session covering the basics of airplane flight. The instructor for the session was Lee Ann Nolte, Education Programs Manager for Wings of Hope, supported by a host of volunteer mentors. The Aero Experience begins our coverage of this session with the hangar safety briefing by Cathy Babis and the student/mentor introduction game with the "flying microphone cube." 

SOAR Into STEM supports the Wings of Hope mission of "Changing and Saving Lives Through the Power of Aviation" by introducing the students to the humanitarian aviation programs now in place in the U.S. and around the world. Here we include a briefing on the Medical Relief and Air Transport Program by Flight Operations Manager RaShonda Clark and some views of the hangar tour provided by the volunteer mentors.

The guest speaker for this session was Frank Dressel, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and former military pilot who recently completed building a Vans RV-14A experimental aircraft. He gave the students an overview of his flying experience along with an introduction to the principles of flight, aircraft flight controls. and propulsion systems.

Following lunch, the student teams and volunteer mentors worked together to assemble and fly a glider requiring careful attention to construction details and concepts such as center of gravity and weight and balance. During the flight test stage, adjustments were made in the placement of the internal weight and throwing techniques were perfected so that students could throw the glider directly to each other across the hangar. 

SOAR Into STEM Spring Session 1 also included small group discussions with the volunteer mentors. Each mentor has experience in the aviation field, and their advice and counsel are invaluable to those students interested in pursuing aviation and aerospace careers. Mentor small group discussions are a feature of each SOAR Into SREM session.

 

The Aero Experience thanks Wings of Hope and all those who contribute to the SOAR Into STEM program. We will have continuing coverage of the upcoming sessions through April and May, culminating in a career fair and flight opportunities.