The Aero Experience Week In Review: STEM Programs Take Off

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience looks back on another great week with the Midwest Aviation Community. Winter finally seems to have relented to a tumultuous spring, so aviation activities have had to carefully proceed between the rain and gusty winds we have experienced recently. Our Week In Review will focus on two area STEM programs under way in the St. Louis area and a few other special features since our last update. 

SOAR Into STEM Sessions 3 and 4

SOAR Into STEM Session 3 was held on Saturday, April 16 in the Wings Hope World Headquarters hangar at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. The theme of the day was Mechanics and Engineering. The morning began with a review of vocations and educational options available in the aeronautics field. The students then used balsa rubber band-powered planes to measure flight distances for various power settings and they learned about aircraft engines while cleaning one on a Piper Cherokee 140. 

SOAR Into STEM Session 4 was held on Saturday, April 23, again at Wings of Hope.  The theme of this session was Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The students were introduced to the world of commercial and military UAVs, designed their own landing pads and flew camera-equipped quadcopters through an obstacle course using an app on their phones. 

On Thursday, April 21, the Red Tail Cadets Class of 2022 was inducted at Elite Aviation, Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Five high school students from the Ferguson-Florissant School District were selected to participate in the program to join the six that were in the inaugural class last summer. The Red Tail Cadet Program is an aviation outreach that provides the ground school and flight training that may lead to the Cadet's first solo flight. Along with the flight training, the program includes mentoring, leadership and life skills development and unique opportunities to interact with industry and community leaders. Here are some views of the current and previous classes along with the six-ship takeoff on their first official flight.

On Tuesday, April 19, the second St. Louis ATC Meetup was held at the STL Aviators hangar at Creve Coeur Airport. Air Traffic Controllers representing St. Louis TRACON, St. Louis Downtown Airport and Spirit of St. Louis Airport gave a presentation and answered questions from over thirty in attendance. A video of the session can be found on The Aero Experience YouTube Channel.

During our time at Creve Coeur Airport, we visited our friends at Gateway Flight Training and the Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation. Gateway Flight Training had a full maintenance hangar, including a King Air undergoing an avionics upgrade, and several training flights were flown in the Piper Warrior. The Army Aviation Heritage Foundation has their Cobra helicopter opened up for inspection. 

On Saturday, April 23, St. Charles County Airport Smartt Field held their spring Wings and Wheels event. Hundreds of cars along with some aircraft and  helicopters are seen here with the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation F-4 Phantom cockpit exhibit. Photos provided by Joe Steimann.

The Aero Experience Week In Review: Working Around the Weather

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience looks back on another great week in the Midwest Aviation community. Spring is in the air, along with the low clouds and precipitation! New and current projects were undertaken last week in challenging weather conditions, and this Week In Review post highlights some of them. As always, we thank you for supporting The Aero Experience as we promote Midwest Aviation.

On Thursday, April 7, a crew from Big River Aviation was on the road again from their St. Louis Downtown Airport location to Washington, MO Regional Airport to recover a Piper Cherokee Six that had been damaged while landing in winter weather in February. The aircraft will be inspected and the repairs made after consultation with the owner. 

Wings of Hope SOAR Into STEM, Session 2

Wings of Hope hosted Session 2 of the SOAR Into STEM program on Saturday, April 9, at their St. Louis World Headquarters hangar. This second of four sessions continued from the first by completing the flight trials with two types of gliders before progressing to the new activities shown below. Leading the program again this week was Robert Powell, Education Director for the Challenger Learning Center of St. Louis, with help from Wings of Hope Project Manager Majd Jmeian and a host of volunteer mentors. Session 2 focused on communication, navigation and flight simulation activities. Sessions 3, 4 and a Career Fair are scheduled for the remaining Saturdays in April.

Ideal Aviation hosted the first of two St. Louis ATC Meet Up programs Tuesday evening, April 12, at their St. Louis Downtown Airport facility. Controllers from St. Louis TRACON, St. Louis Downtown Airport and Spirit of St. Louis Airport gave a presentation and answered questions from over 80 attendees in two sessions. There was positive communication among the pilots and controllers in each session, and the second ATC Meet Up on April 19 at Creve Coeur Airport promises to be just as productive.

The Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation continued to perform phase inspections on their Huey and Cobra helicopters at their Creve Coeur Airport location on Thursday, April 14. They are being prepared for flight events this summer where veteran crews give the public a chance to experience flight in these iconic aircraft. 

Also on Thursday at Creve Coeur Airport, a student and CFI from Gateway Flight Training were getting some practice flying crosswind patterns in the Piper Warrior. This rare clear day brought with it winds that kept most planes on the ground by the afternoon. Several aircraft are seen here undergoing maintenance, including an avionics upgrade for the Beech King Air, in the comfortable hangar.

On Friday, April 15, the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation at Creve Coeur Airport received the Elite RC-1 Advanced Training Device donated by Elite Aviation from Spirit of St. Louis Airport. The RC-1 will eventually become part of the Foundation's flight simulation program that currently includes six V/R simulator stations for use in youth STEM programs.