Blytheville students to take flight with project

Next summer, a group of 30 Blytheville High School students will give flight to a new project that is designed to foster an interest in science, technology, engineering and math careers after graduation.

Blytheville High School science teachers Cameron Tharp and Jared Brown introduced school board members to "Project Flight" Monday, a project in which 30 students from all levels of achievement will build the body to an airplane in only three weeks time using a kit that boasts being "so easy anyone can do it."

The project is set to take off in June according to Tharp and Brown, who said the students will build the frame for the plane using a kit from Zenith Air during that initial three-week period under the guidance of mentors from Aviation Repair Technologies and Nucor Steel. After that phase of the project is completed, a smaller group of students will be selected to help finish the installation of the motor, electronics, avionics and other interior aspects.

Brown said while the project may seem ambitious, it's something he's confident the students will be able to complete, adding the hardest part will be getting the students to believe they are building an actual plane and not a model.

"This is going to be easy, and I know our kids can do it," Brown said. "It's been done in schools before, and with great success. I think the hardest part will be getting the students to believe they are building an actual plane that will fly, not just a model or something."

The project has been used in a number of schools in the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Miami, Fla., where founder and pilot Barrington Irving conducted the project's inaugural build with a group of inner-city Miami students.

The project is estimated to cost $36,732, which can be funded through STEM grants, according to Director of New Tech and Parental Involvement Coordinator Teryn Spears. Brown also noted the high resale value of these planes and the sustainability of the project for future years.

"We've seen these, used, go for $80,000-$100,000, and we're only paying $36,000 for ours. So this can be a sustainable project and it has been in many schools, including Miami where it started," Brown said.

The build is set to kick off in June of next year, with the plane being completed, tested and ready to fly by before the start of the 2014 school year.

During Monday's meeting, the school board also recognized the Blytheville Middle School "High Voltage" robotics club, which recently competed at University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Although the team did not place, club sponsor Sharon Brown said the students were pitted against high school and college teams with more experience and still "held their own."

The Blytheville Middle School robotics club "High Voltage" had the opportunity to show off this year's build during Monday's Blytheville School Board meeting. Team captains (from left) Aaron Matthews, Zac White and Savanah Davis gave board members a demonstration of the bot. The team competed at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock on Nov. 2, against mostly high school and college teams, according to sponsor Sharon Brown.

cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com