 |
| By Carmelo Turdo |
In Session 4, led by Wings of Hope Education Programs Manager Lee Ann Nolte and a team of volunteer mentors, the students were given a systematic introduction to aircraft maintenance through direct interaction with airframe and powerplant technicians in the Wings of Hope hangar. To start things off, the students were given time to review the aircraft maintenance section of the SOAR Into STEM Book of Knowledge before giving a short presentation on the material and taking questions from volunteer mentors.
The guest speaker for Session 4 was David Harrington, an A&P technician and local pilot with EAA Chapter 1675. His presentation included an overview of aircraft systems and maintenance procedures common to most general aviation aircraft. He also addressed recognition of human factors and ways to prevent maintenance errors through checklists, workspace organization and teamwork.
The students received experience performing essential tasks of aircraft maintenance by participating in a round robin series of activities, including installing and removing Cleco fasteners, adjusting control cable tension, gapping and testing spark plugs, applying safety wire and inspecting aircraft for defects and corrosion. A new activity was recently added - assembly of a cell phone base made from sheet metal plates riveted together. Here we show a sample of each activity as the groups rotated through the stations.
Student teams also participated in an engineering project - design and build a working catapult to employ in a shooting distance competition at the end of the session. Awards were given to the winning teams!
SOAR Into STEM will continue on November 14 with Discovery Flight/Career Fair Day. The Aero Experience thanks Wings of Hope and everyone who contributed to another great SOAR Into STEM Session.
No comments:
Post a Comment