"Today's young people don't have enough patience to build an airplane" "Children are no longer interested in airplanes"
Does this sound familiar?
I myself present a different opinion on the matter. Here's a true story about how I myself have run airplane clubs after school for students in the spring semester of 2022.
I've been thinking about the idea of starting an airplane club at school for a long time. At the turn of January-February 2022, I saw a fb update looking for club leaders for school afternoon clubs. I was in contact with the municipality's contact person and that's how it started.
A total of 4 groups were formed, 2 groups for Thursday and 2 groups for Friday. The group size varies between 5 and 12 participants. We got the Wood Carving classes of the school.
Accessories:
Before the clubs started, I bought a few EPS insulation boards, from which I cut about 30 cm wide building platforms. The thickness of the plate should be chosen so that the T-pins do not pass through. I also added a few bags of Du-Bron T-pins small to the accessories.
As knife I choosed the Excell K4, you should also have a patch with you. I noticed myself that the first two times the young club members used a knife, I needed a patch. After this, the club members learn that the blade of the knife is sharp.
The instructor should also have quick glue in the club kit for quick repairs. e.g. Kavan CA glue pack
Planes to build and fly:
When choosing the airplanes to be built, it was important that we could fly as quickly as possible. I chose the Aeronaut Sniffi as my first airplane. Laser cut parts, simple construction. Also flies well.
Everyone got Sniff done the first time with a little help, and we also managed to fly a bit.
The next time the weather was most wonderful, the sun was shining and the wind was almost calm. So Guillow's Captain Storm was chosen as the plane. The children were able to assemble these in 10 minutes, after which we went outside to fly. A simple airplane to quickly discover the joy of flying!
After this we started to build "Petty" rubber motor airplanes. This was accompanied by two club times. Petty's structure is quite simple. The drawing is placed upside down on the construction platform. The strips are cut to the right length and the corners are cut to the correct length. The parts are glued to the drawing, which also acts as a covering.
After building done, we got to fly in school gymnasiums.
It was really rewarding and nice to see the children's enthusiasm when the airplane they built was trimmed and flying well.
After that, together with the younger ones, we also made a Quicker HLG glider, the structure is very similar to the Sniff, but the wing has more to grind and a trim flap is built into the rudder. The Quicker sticks really well and also lets the wind through.
Together with older club members, we built TWIST rubber motor gliders.
For Twist and Boogie airplanes, you should take into account that the place to fly should be quite large and spacious. These actually fit really well.
In the video, only 50-75 turns on the rubber.
I have also carried a laptop with MULTIflight simulator and SMART SX controller. Club members have been able to practice flying while the glue dries. This has proven to be quite popular.
It has been nice to watch how the flying skills have developed for most of them.
With one group, we have also tried flying with EasyStar3 airplanes and using the Multiplex teacher-student system. This was also popular as the sun warmed comfortably.
If you have thought about starting an airplane club at school, I highly recommend it. The feedback that has come from the school, children, parents and grandparents has been really positive.
Within this short time, it has been great to see how the club members have developed, the glue dosing has become more precise. Learned that you should not put too much glue, it is more laborious to sand away. Learned to read drawings and work instructions.
This concept can be used freely ;o)
Best Regards.
Ville