Students Are Flying High as They Build a Real Plane
As high school study assignments go, this one was unusual: Build an airplane.
Since February, 14 students from Glendale, Hoover and Daily highs have been working two hours a day, Monday through Thursday, in Glendale Community College’s aviation hangar.
“This is the coolest program I’ve ever been in,” said Vahagn Babayan, 18, a senior at Hoover High.
He and his friends spend their time reading mechanical drawing and building small parts for Sky Star’s “Kitfox,” a two-seater with a wingspan of 32 feet.
That’s fine with Nelson Petatanyan, a sophomore at Glendale, and Armond Uguryan, a senior.
Nelson wants to become a pilot. Armond wants to become an aviation engineer. The prospect of careers is what attracted the teenagers to Cassel’s course.
It is one of 31 job training programs that the school district administers jointly with Glendale Community College under the Regional Occupational Program, a state-funded initiative to prepare adults and youths for the job market.
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