2025 SOAR Into STEM Fall Session 1: Principles of Flight

By Carmelo Turdo

High school students from the St. Louis area participated in the first of four fall 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 program series is coordinated by 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 student arrivals 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 tour of the Wings of Hope hangar containing the aircraft used in the Medical Relief and Air Transport Program providing air transportation at no charge for patients seeking specialized medical care within an 800-mile radius of St. Louis.

  

The guest speaker for this session was Ben Miller, a St. Louis-based charter jet pilot. He gave the students an overview of his flying experience along with an introduction to the principles of flight, aircraft flight controls, instrumentation and propulsion systems. His presentation included a practical demonstration of these topics using the Wings of Hope Cessna 206 parked nearby. The students then completed their first project - labelling and adjusting the flight controls on a foam glider. Refinements were made during a brief flight test period before breaking for lunch.

Following lunch, the student teams and volunteer mentors worked together to assemble and fly a more sophisticated 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 launch techniques were perfected so that students could throw the glider directly to each other with great accuracy. 

SOAR Into STEM Fall 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 October and into November.