Build A Plane builds on early success

Build A Plane and Cessna Aircraft have teamed to bring an aviation-themed national build challenge to schools across the country.

As part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative to get children more interested in math, science, and technology, Build A Plane, Cessna, and Parametric Technology Corporation will be supplying computer-aided design software to schools for kids to design new aircraft. The program allows students to collaborate via the Web with engineers from the DOE and Cessna.

Build A Plane also announced at Oshkosh on July 29 that the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is supporting Build A Plane participants from Kentucky at the show. The students are restoring an Aeronca Champ, and they will be working on it throughout the show at GAMA’s booth.

Build A Plane was formed to get children excited about aviation. The group’s first project was a Cessna 150 in California. By the end of the refurbishment, two students had soloed, two were attending airframe and powerplant school on the weekends, and one had enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The group now has 70 airplanes in schools around the country.