Take Flight

January 24, 2025

Even during midterms week, Take Flight continues to gather momentum. I spoke with the Aviation Board of Directors during their meeting yesterday, and we sent a delegation to speak at their Annual Meeting last evening. Without their inspiration, none of this would have been possible.

We also continue to expand our awareness of the aviation community in the Upper Valley. Thanks to all who hosted us on this week's field trip.

Sometimes, our students say it best, and I need to quote Ian from last night's meeting. He said, "Every rivet, every bolt, every sheet of metal, reminds us that precision matters, whether you’re building a plane or your future."

It sure looks bright from here.

Best to all,

Bonnie

After a nice dinner sponsored by the Aviation Museum, our students were invited to speak at the annual meeting. Mallory and Ian, accompanied by their parents and Bo Harwood, represented LHS in style.

In talking about how much she has learned through the Tango Flight curriculum and the experience, Mallory credited the mentors, "I would not know any of this without the mentors who have helped enormously and have helped us through every step and explained things that we didn't know."

She added, "My favorite part of the program is the fact that it is almost 95% hands on and we are almost always doing something. I have grown a lot with my ability to work with others and also people I wouldn’t necessarily work with or even meet. This program has opened up my horizons to lots of different opportunities not only with learning new skills but also all of the help and support the mentors and teachers have given us."

Ian spoke about the relevance of the program. "I have always had an interest in aviation and when I heard about the opportunity to build a plane, I jumped at it and haven’t looked back since. Take flight has been a fantastic opportunity to gain real world, hands on experience in a field that I plan on going into."

He summed up how the experience has affected not only himself but also the other students in the class. "Take flight does not just teach us how to build these parts or how to rivet or use a drill, it teaches us how to collaborate, how to think critically, and how to dream big while working meticulously on the details."

Both Mallory and Ian expressed gratitude. "the wonderful mentors, teachers, administration, the aviation museum, and all our donors for your unconditional support and for making this whole thing possible."

Speaking for all of the adults involved in Take Flight, I would like to say that we are also grateful for our students. Thanks to Ian, Mallory, and all of the students who make every day special out in the hangar.

On the coldest day of the winter (-10!), the Take Flight crew headed off to Lebanon Municipal Airport to learn more about this resource right in our backyard.

Four of our mentors (Stuart, Paul, Nathaniel, and John) joined us for the visit, and Tom, Bo, Christian, and I also braved the cold.

Carl Gross welcomed us and shared both the history and anticipated changes coming to the airport.

•The local control tower is one of 31 towers funded for replacement in 2022.

•The new tower will be: 83’ above ground level at the cab floor, 117’ tall, designed with sustainability in mind, and located west of the terminal.

Looking ahead....

We took the seven flights of stairs to the top of the Lebanon Control Tower where we met Braxton Freeman, the power chief. It is a beautiful view from "the penthouse" and students learned a great deal about managing incoming and outgoing flights as well as the career options in this field. The current tower is 42', but the next one will almost double in height.

Jason Archambeau welcomed us to the very classy home of Granite Air in the shadow of the tower. We were wowed by the planes currently in their hangar and really enjoyed hearing about the career of an A & P (Airframe and Powerplant) professional.

Bob is a regular Take Flight mentor, and our students work with him once per week. He is multi-talented and one of his retirement projects was building an RV-14 on his own. We got to visit his hangar, see the plane, consider the quality of his rivets, explore how his set-up compares to ours, and even sit in the cockpit.

Our last stop was to visit Cape Air, and Nick told us about the commercial service it offers. Cape Air serves over 30 destinations across the Northeast, Cape Cod & the Islands, Eastern Montana, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Kitts, and Nevis.

To Carl, Brax and Jeff in the tower, Jason at Granite Air, Bob our mentor, and Nick at Cape Air. It was an enlightening morning, and we appreciate your time.

We always love having visitors, and these students were very enthusiastic. Thanks to Mrs. Palys and Mrs. Wurdak for coming out to the hangar.

Every visit to the hangar reveals new progress.

8.25.24, 9.3.24, 9.11.24, 9.18.24, 10.1.24, 10.14.24, 10.29.24, 11.7.24, 11.21.24, 12.7.24, 12.19.24, 1.2.25, 1.13.25, 1.24.25

As always, feel free to share this newsletter, introduce us to anyone who is interested and/or would like to contribute in any way, and let me know if you'd like stop by the hangar to see our students at work.