West Bend, WI – High school students from across Washington and Ozaukee Counties are using this summer to further their education in areas of science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and aeronautics. About 16 students are taking part in the annual Air Camp hosted by EAA Chapter 1158 in West Bend, WI.
“Air Camp was started by Paul Lupton in 2000,” said instructor Bob Kuenzi. “It was designed to give kids, 13-to-16 years old, exposure into aviation and the career of aviation. We’ve continued his tradition for 24 years giving kids experience in sheet metal construction, fiber glass and rivet construction, fabric covering, and things of that nature.”
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Kuenzi said students are also given the opportunity to fly and take advantage of field trips to the West Bend Helicopter Unit and the 128th Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.
“We’re trying to give students a chance at aviation,” Kuenzi said. “We know they all won’t be in aviation, but we give them skills they can use in other industries like welding, blueprint reading, and teamwork; they can take these skills and make it into a career.”
“Honestly everything in aviation has a shortage right now so they can start getting the steppingstones here at camp,” said instructor Alyson Jimenez.
At 24, Jimenez is returning to help at Air Camp. While in high school in 2015 she flew from her home in Arizona to take the course in West Bend, WI.
Click HERE to learn more about Chapter 1158 Air Camp
“After high school I went on to get my bachelors and master’s in mechanical engineering at Arizona State and now I work as a structural engineer at Textron Aviation,” she said.
“If they want to go in to engineering a great thing for high schoolers is to take extra math and science and if they want to get into more of the physical process, like what we’re doing today, riveting is a great opportunity; a lot of trade schools will even start taking high schoolers for these programs. If they have an interest in piloting now is a great time to start getting hours; really anything can be started as a high schooler if you want to work in aviation.”
Eliza Anderson, 16, said she liked the different aspects of Air Camp. “We’re dabbling in a bunch of different areas of aviation,” she said. “We’re learning how to do riveting; we flew drones and we’re learning how to fabricate.”
Kuenzi said Air Camp is the chapter’s premier event of the year. “This camp can also lead into our next phase which is Kettle Moraine Youth Aviation where they get to build a real airplane from a kit,” he said. “We encourage people to come to our monthly meetings at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month and our first Saturday of the month breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.”
Below is a story about Kettle Moraine Youth Aviation and students working to build an airplane.
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West Bend/ Hartford, WI – More than a dozen students from the West Bend area are building an RV-12is airplane from a kit with the help of mentors at Kettle Moraine Youth Aviation (KMYA) which is part of EAA West Bend, Wi. The overarching theme of the course is building airplanes | building leaders.
Howard Kaney is the vice president of KMYA and one of the mentors overseeing the project.
The work atmosphere is comfortable. Hoodies, t-shirts and blue jeans are the norm.
Alex Janasiak, 13, is an 8th grader at Badger Middle School. “This is a way for me to learn teamwork and leadership,” he said.
Students who participate in the KMYA project need to fill out an application. There is a $100 fee to take part. Click HERE for an application.
Eliza Anderson, 16, attends Living Word Lutheran High School in Jackson. “I didn’t know anything when I started, and I learned all the tools and how to prep the parts and put everything together,” she said.
Anderson, who wants to be an airline pilot, is a member of Honors Academy at school. She was interested in engineering and her dad met someone who told them about the group of students building an RV-12is plane.
“I learned about reading blueprints, plans, and part numbers. It was hard to learn how to read everything but now it’s easier. To be a pilot you need to know the ins and outs of a plane and by being a part of this I’m learning. I’m excited to get more girls into it as well.”
As part of the plane-building course, students keep a builder’s log and document their progress in meticulous detail. As of Monday, January 8 the team had logged 19.7 hours and were focusing on completing the frontal systems and fuel tank. Click HERE to read the diary of the RV-12is.
Nicholas Belongia, 18, attends Ozaukee High School and has his sights set on becoming a pilot. “Just learning how to build a plane, use the tools, getting flight experience that can help me get somewhere in life,” he said.
Kaney said the plan is to assemble an aircraft, test fly it and then may be sell the aircraft and reinvest the proceeds back into the program.
“Part of what we do here is just expose the students to opportunities that they wouldn’t learn about in any other way,” said Kaney. “What we’re really doing is building students that build airplanes.”
Click HERE to learn more about Kettle Moraine Youth Aviation.
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