2024 SOAR Into STEM Spring Session 1: Principles of Flight

By Carmelo Turdo

High school students from St. Louis area districts 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, and she was supported by a host of volunteer mentors.

The guest speaker for this session was Rob Wunderlich, who as a USMC Captain, served as the Blue Angels KC-130 Fat Albert pilot for the 1997-1998 seasons. Wunderlich later transferred to the USAF where he flew the KC-135 tanker. He is now a volunteer pilot flying Wings of Hope Medical Relief and Air Transport (MAT) missions. Wunderlich gave the students an overview of his military experience along with an introduction to the principles of flight.      

 

The first hands-on project was to construct a foam aircraft based on the discussion of the principles of flight and aircraft flight controls. 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. These models were for demonstration only and not made for actual flight. However, some ambitious students were determined to turn their aircraft into actual gliders. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 were made in the placement of the internal weight and throwing techniques were perfected to produce progressively longer flights. 

 

 

 

 

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.