SOAR Into STEM Session 1: Principles of Flight

By Carmelo Turdo

Twenty-eight students from St. Louis area school districts participated in the first of four spring sessions of the Wings of Hope SOAR Into STEM Program on Saturday. SOAR Into STEM provides the opportunity for high-school students 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 Robert Powell, Education Director for the Challenger Learning Center of St. Louis, and he was supported by Wings of Hope Program Manager Majd Jmeian and a host of volunteer mentors. We begin our coverage with registration, an overhead look at the activity area and the hangar safety briefing by Director of Operations, Tim Long.

The first project was to construct a foam glider based on a discussion of the principles of flight and basic aircraft structures. Teams of three or four students cut out and identified the control surfaces on the wings and tail and demonstrated the movement of the ailerons, flaps, elevator and rudder as if the aircraft were maneuvering in flight. 

Following the introductory lesson on the basics of flight, Elsa Klarich gave an inspiring presentation on her experience as a bush pilot in Africa and a military UAV operator in Afghanistan. Now living in Tanzania, she flies humanitarian missions for Flying Medical Service in a Cessna 206 to support the health and welfare of women and children in east Africa. She also supports wildlife conservation programs to protect endangered animals such as elephants, hippos and rhinos that are poached for their ivory horns and teeth. This type of flying requires special training for operating out of small, rough airstrips surrounded by mountains and often occupied by large, native animals such as giraffes. While stationed in Afghanistan, she operated UAVs on surveillance and reconnaissance missions under contract for the U.S. military and NATO countries. She is in St. Louis to support the SOAR Into STEM program and receive additional training before returning to Tanzania.

Following lunch, the student teams and volunteer mentors worked together to assemble and fly a more advanced design glider requiring careful attention to construction details and concepts such as center of gravity and weight and balance. During the flight test stage, adjustments to the placement of the external weight and throwing technique were made to produce progressively longer flights. More work with this glider will come later in another session.