{"id":9781,"date":"2021-04-15T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=9781"},"modified":"2021-04-14T18:34:06","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T22:34:06","slug":"lakeland-aero-club-construct-aircraft-at-snf21-expo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2021\/04\/15\/lakeland-aero-club-construct-aircraft-at-snf21-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakeland Aero Club construct aircraft at #SNF21 expo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A team Polk County students are taking a hand-on approach when it comes to making sure they have the wings needed to fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lakeland Aero Club<\/a> will be assembling a Patriot Aircraft PA-18F over a span of six days at the 2021 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo. It’s an ambitious goal, according to Aron Yichye, the club’s vice president, especially considering they are also building the aircraft’s engine from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve built an engine before over three to four days, working only three to four hours a day,” he said. “Regardless of the outcome, it’s a learning experience.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicholas Poucher, the club’s executive assistant, said such a project would typically take about eight months to a year to finish if students were working on it a few hours a day, two to three times a week after school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday morning, a stark white, frame sat in the center of an open hangar. A group of about 10 students talked about their next steps in assembling the engine while the plane’s wings laid stretched out across tables opposite the frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Wade, co-owner of Patriot Aircraft, said the aircraft kit the students are assembling is a two-person light sport trainer ideal for daytime recreational use. Once fully constructed, the plane will weigh around 1,320 pounds and have 118-horsepower engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is for the everyday flyer who is simply enjoying the flight,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft’s design will also allow for a student to pilot the craft, while a trained instructor sitting behind them can easily look on and take over the controls if needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wade and his brother, Ron, will both be on hand to help walk students through the step-by-step process of assembling the aircraft. It’s a kit that starts with engineering diagrams, and the rest is up to the teens to figure out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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