Newport
On this, the second day of the week-long academy, (Aug. 8-12) the students were tasked with matching one-sixteenth-inch diameter balsa sticks to the lines on drawings of various shapes then cutting and gluing the pieces together.
“I cracked it so that it is split just a little so it will follow the angle (of the drawing) this is at,” explained Chase Hamilton, 13, of Newport as he carefully set the balsa on the black line. “Then I put it on top of the paper so the crack is where the bend is (in the drawing).”
When Hamilton was satisfied the stick was perfectly aligned with the drawing, he pinned it in place, then repeated the process with other balsa sticks.
“Then I will put all of the inside braces in and then put a little glue on it to hold it together.”
While Hamilton’s class worked on their planes, the introductory class was at the opposite end of the airport, boarding planes for short flights and the intermediary students were constructing small gliders from a kit. In all the academy included 32 students.
“We have two primary goals for the academy,” said Parlin Field’s co-manager, Heath Marsden. “First, with the average age of pilots in this area around 60, we want to get youth involved and share our passion for aviation with them so they carry it on.
“The other thing we do is work with the schools and focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. That is what ACE is built around.”
Though each class is different in the degree to which they delve into STEM, Marsden said students all come away with a basic understanding of the principles of flight aerodynamics — lift, weight, thrust and drag. For example, the introductory class can “tweak” the small planes they put together to learn what keeps them aloft, while the third-year students build a plane from scratch, paying close attention to critical details.
“The hardest thing I think is probably squaring off the ends,” Hamilton said as he pieced together the balsa sticks. “You have to make it just perfect just at the right angle so it fits together perfectly. If you see too much gap, when you pick up it will just fall apart.”
Volunteer instructor Walt Buskey, a pilot from Etna, reinforced Hamilton’s understanding to the rest of the class of nine students.
“I am really adamant you guys learn how to make these frames so they will hold up,” said Buskey in an encouraging tone.
Next to Hamilton was Brooklynn Mitchler, 13, of Newport, whose practice frames won praise from Buskey.
“See those joints? That is very good for a beginner,” Buskey said.
Mitchler is in her second year with the program and was introduced to it by her father, who was an instructor last year.
“I had such a great spark of interest in this,” she said. “Just learning the aerodynamics and being able to fly the planes is a great opportunity.”
Marsden said construction of small model planes mirrors that of actual planes.
“This is how planes are built. This process we are going through is not so different than the actual planes themselves; we are just using different materials,” Marsden said.
“The way the spars come tighter, the way the fuselage comes together, this is aircraft engineering,” he continued. “It is a great hands-on learning. They discuss aerodynamics, math, physics and at the end, they have something to show for it.”
Topics covered throughout the week included basic navigation, airplane systems, drone demonstrations, theory of flight, flight planning and simulation, glider building and careers in aviation.
“We want them to know there are (aviation) careers other than being a pilot,” said Marsden, who is an airport planner.
The brief flights were the first for most students in a small plane.
“It was pretty cool,” said a beaming Abby Rasmussen, 13, of Croydon as she stepped from the two-person cockpit of Piper Cherokee with Russ Kelsea of Strafford, N.H., at the controls after a flight over Mt. Sunapee and Lake Sunapee.
“I think this provides a good learning experience.”
Besides constructing and flying their own model plane, the other major project for the advanced class was flight planning.
“They are going through flight planning process, what it takes to plan a flight; wind direction, speed, fuel,” said Tim Renner, of Newport. “They are calculating all those things working one on one with the pilots.” Renner is a Hypertherm employee and one of 10 volunteers from the company helping out at the academy.
Bad weather cancelled the planned flights on the third day but it cleared enough the next day to allow the students to fly with an instructor to Laconia, N.H., and back, Marsden said.
“Every kid got a chance at the controls.”
Marsden said the airport was able to hold the week-long program for 32 students and charge just $50 per student because of the volunteers and grants they received, including ones from Hypertherm and the Newport Rotary. Nine pilots donated their time, planes and fuel and all the instructors were volunteers. The Newport school district provides bus transportation and computers.
“This was a 100 percent volunteer effort. It is really cool to see the community come together like this,” Marsden said. “We just could not do this without the volunteers.”
By midweek, the advanced students had completed the fuselage and were working on the wings. Next, the students could alter the planes’ dynamics, the rudder and speed to see how that affects flight, Marsden said, adding that a few were able to complete their planes and fly them on the final day.
“This is all about them learning the process of flight and aviation and aircraft themselves.”
The week also included trips to airports in Manchester and Nashua, where students got a look at air traffic control operations.
Marsden said they receive “positive feedback” and though it takes eight months and a lot of work to plan the academy’s activities and classes, the enthusiasm among students makes it worth it and they plan to hold it again next year.
Marti Zentmaier, 15, of Hanover was in her first year at the academy. Having been in Buskey’s model aviation classes he taught for 15 years at Richmond Middle School, Zentmaier was in the academy’s advanced class. She is not sure if a career in aviation is for her, but enjoys flying and would like to get her pilot’s license someday.
“I’m learning some of the principles of how and why planes stay in the air,” Zentmaier said during the advanced “stick and tissue” class. “What I am doing right now is really fun; putting these little tiny sticks together to make this awesome thing that can fly.”
Parlin Field is holding its 16th annual fly-in today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with aircraft on display and free flights for those between the ages of 8 and 17.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached pogclmt@gmail.com.
