SOAR Into STEM Begins Fall Session at Wings of Hope

By Carmelo Turdo

High school students from St. Louis area school districts participated in the first of four fall sessions of the Wings of Hope SOAR Into STEM Program on Saturday. SOAR Into STEM provides the opportunity for the 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 Communications, UAV (drone) operations and discovery fights with Elite Aviation. Another added bonus is a career fair held on week five.

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, Wings of Hope Education Coordinator and Education Director for the Challenger Learning Center of St. Louis. He was also assisted by a host of volunteer mentors. Here Robert Powell begins the session, and the safety briefing is given 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 two or three 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. 

A special opportunity to learn about humanitarian aviation was provided through a video conference with representatives from Mercy Air. Based in South Africa, Mercy Air is a Christian NGO that flies helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft domestically and to neighboring countries to provide relief services to those in immediate and long-term need. Mercy Air transports medical, agricultural and community development specialists to remote areas where they can directly interact with members of each community in the most productive way. The students were also given a virtual tour of the hangar and asked questions in real time.

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 internal weight and throwing technique were made to produce progressively longer flights. 

The session concluded with an informal meeting between the students and their assigned mentors covering a variety of aviation, education and career topics. Students and mentors will continue these discussions at each SOAR Into STEM session culminating in the career fair event in week five.