High school students in Talkeetna, Alaska, are getting to work this year on a special project—refurbishing a wrecked Stinson 108-3. The Stinson was donated in connection with the Build-A-Plane program and the area school’s AeroScholars program.
Su Valley High School added Build-A-Plane’s AeroScholars program recently, which calls for two semesters of aviation training—the first on basic aviation concepts, and the second more of a traditional ground school course, where students can be endorsed for the knowledge test at the end.
As part of the courses, Build-A-Plane can also try to match a school with a donated airplane that needs to be built or repaired. In the case of Su Valley High, the school was able to find a Stinson 108-3, courtesy of Matanuska Electric Association manager Joe Griffith, a former fighter pilot and current GA pilot.
The students will be working on the airplane in Matanuska Electric Association’s hangar at the Talkeetna airport. Area businesses are getting in on the act with donations including private pilot training materials, and time in a UPS simulator. Class and airplane work begins in the fall.
Ian J. Twombly
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