WWI Student Project

Lance Cordell and Christopher Herring are new team members. They are in the process of filing and sanding the formers. This process requires sanding with coarse grit sand paper then moving to a finer grit and it continues until a smooth finish is achieved.

Arthur Mitchell just finished his assigned task that included drilling several side formers. He is logging his accomplishment, which is a requirement for all students upon completion of their tasks. Arthur is also one of our new Nieuport team members.  He started in November and is really excited about being a part of the Nieuport build team. Although he is retired military with aviation experience, he decided to continue his career by enrolling into our school after receiving a brochure in the mail.  The information in the brochure really peaked his interest so he called the school and asked for a tour. He met with an Admission Officer who told him about a list of items that were offered; job placement, perfect attendance award programs as well as the Nieuport project.  Attending school and having an opportunity to help build an aircraft is something that Arthur knew would broaden his aviation knowledge.  

The first picture shows four of our students who are doing a trial run installing the formers. The two students on the right are David Gunn and Cameron Lowe. The students on the left are John Sanders and Chance Torain. The formers are taped in place so they can get a realistic ideal of how well they fit. The next picture shows how the formers and stringers fit together. Currently, they are temporarily held in place by clamps until they can be permanently attached.

Michael Roesen is in deep thought as he fits the side formers to the fuselage.  Michael is a native of Norfolk, which is one of our seven cities.  During general conversation I asked Michael to tell me a little about himself. “I grew up near Norfolk terminal during the time when they were only serving three airlines; National, United and Piedmont. Planes would fly over, I would look up and wish that one day I could be a pilot or work at an airport. However, prior to following my dream of Aviation I worked in several other fields. After being injured on my job I decided to inquire about an aviation career.  I made an appointment with Kevin; we toured the school and looked at the Nieuport replica that was being built. I was told I could be part of the build team as well as have my name on a plaque when it goes to the museum. At that moment I was convinced. I now have 25 hours on the Nieuport and was here the day it first fired up. I helped build the formers with the help of Joe Eggers and Tom Sare.  Immediately after starting this task I was bitten by the aviation bug. Everyone at AIM is very helpful, however a special thanks goes to Rodney because his determination helped me to find a job with Fed Ex. I would like to commend everyone for convincing me that I can succeed even when things seemed extremely hard. I now know that if I try I can reach unbelievable heights.”

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Michael Roesen is diligently working on the side formers.  He has been a student since August, 2009. Preparing the formers requires plenty of work.  Each piece must be individually measured and cut. To ensure the formers fit properly, a rough cut is done then fitted on the fuselage. After a proper fit is achieved the formers are sanded and varnish.   Making the formers is tedious work but as you can see it builds a sense of pride.

 Vong Oulay is also in the process of cutting side formers.  When asked, “what convinced you to pursue a career in aviation?” Vong responded, “I have been a student at AIM for five months and I do not regret my decisions. The instructors and advisors have been very helpful in ensuring that their students are living his or her dream in the aviation world. As a child I have always been very interested in airplanes and now I’m finally getting my dream started at AIM. My future plan is to work for a major company in the aviation world, however what’s most unbelievable is the fact that I will be getting paid well for doing something I love.”

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This week I asked one of our students who is working on the Nieuport 24 project to give me some information about him for this week’s blog. He gave me the following information which basically says it all about him and our students. The students here want to follow their dreams in becoming a part of this exciting lifestyle. Working on a WW1 aircraft or fixing space vehicles it is all aviation and to get started in this life long carreer Kyle is learning from our highly qualified General, Airframe, PowerpPlant and Avionics instructors to help him reach his goals. Kyle said he saw a pamphlet about our school from a friend in New Jersey and it sparked his interest so he called to receive more information which led him to our school in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is glad he made the decision to come here and being part of the WW1 project is just icing on the cake!

My name is Kyle Decker. When I was a child, my father took me to a large air base in central New Jersey close to where we lived to see an air show. From that day on I was dazed every time a plane flew over my head. I have always been amazed at what we have accomplished in the aviation industry. My passion for airplanes and space vehicles drives me to learn and succeed. I hope to one day work on aircraft that may push humans into the outer reaches of space. On October 2^nd, I and a few other students were privileged to witness the great sound of a brand new engine firing for the first time on our very own Nieuport project airplane. The plane is a great legend as it served as a fighter aircraft during and between the First World War. Like the very first aircraft it has essential lift, pitch, and yaw systems. But unlike modern aircraft, the entire aircraft seems much simpler to pilot than a conventional cockpit with a seemingly endless amount of knobs and buttons. I am proud to have been a part of this project and hope to continue my education here at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance.

Last week Kyle was busy sanding down a wing and applying a protective coating to the wing and various side/top former. Also in the last picture Mr. Joe Eggers, who is the project manager for this aircraft is giving a lesson to some students about how the carburetor heat system will function. On a side note I have tried to post information with detail pictures so others can see exactly what we are doing and to highlight our aviation students who are doing the work. This week I am passing on the torch to others to make posts for this blog and I am looking forward to reading about this project as it gets close to becoming one of the finest WW1 airworthy aircraft replicas made. Brad Groom

          Please click on all pictures to enlarge. Thank you.

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Some of the last minute items we did last week before engine start-up were:

Made a new fuel line because when we added the fuel to the aircraft the hose pictured here had fuel seeping from it.

Student Cameron Lowe is securing the hardware to the new hose. (with help from Thom Sare).

Oil was pored into tank /spark plugs out and in and the inline fuse was installed.

An air filter was placed into position and a start-up check list was written.

The last picture I found very unique, please enlarge all thumbnails to increase the size of picture by clicking on them. As stated before will upload video/sound of engine start-up when the software gets loaded to my computer.

 Aviation classes are exciting and so is a career in aviation, call us.

Yes, our Nieuport 24 with the Rotec 3600 is running! Not much time to post more about this now but many tasks had to be completed this week and the students and instructors made it happen. Will try to post more on this mid-week about all that took place but for now please see the picture.  Will try to add video soon.

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Standing next to the Nieuport 24 (N24) is Wayne Hoover. Wayne has been a student here at our school since May 2009 and is volunteering to work on the N24 aircraft. Some of our students come with skills that they have acquired from previous employment and Wayne is one of them. When it comes to doing some wood working Wayne is very talented because he is experienced in cabinet making and trim work from working in the housing sector. When the local new housing market cooled off he walked into our school to learn about aviation because he wanted a new career that he could work with his hands. He has the aptitude to soak up all the knowledge and is sporting a 4.0 GPA. Taking advantage of the Aviation Maintenance Technician classes and the Avionics Program he will be in high demand when he finishes school. He said he is the next generation aircraft mechanic.

The Rotec manual calls for an 80 amp in-line fuse and we were having a hard time locating one until now. In one of the thumbnails please see the 80 amp, 50 amp and the in-line fuse holder. We ended up going to one of those car audio stores to find this much needed equipment. Also we have ordered the blended/half synthetic oil for our Rotec 3600 from an auto parts store. The tanks have had their vent and drain lines installed so we are getting very close to starting our Rotec 3600. Please click on the thumbnails to increase the viewing pleasure. Thank you. 

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 This last week we have been trying to get some of the little items accomplished. Case in point is the many little tabs that secure the side formers to the fuselage. These tabs were time consuming from the start because they all required making, installing nut plates to them and now welding them to the aircraft. As you can see from the wide shots we still have some more to do but we are moving forward. Keep checking back soon because we will me doing a green run on our Rotec 3600 very soon. Please click on all pictures to enlarge, thank you.

Invest in yourself now to land a life long career. Call us. 

We are getting very close to putting the fuel and oil in our tanks. A protective coating has been applied to both tanks and they have been installed in the aircraft. In the first picture the center part of the instrument panel is cut out so the pilot can get a good read on how much fuel is in the tank. Please click on all pictures to enlarge.

Aviation is an exciting career, call us and learn from the best! 

More electrical work was accomplished this last week connecting the instruments. Pressure checked the fuel tank one more time and found a small leak so we will have to do a little more repair to that. John Sanders Jr. is busy with some wood work also this week. Please click on all pictures to enlarge.   

This past week we had a guest come see our Nieuport 24 (N24) aircraft. Pictured standing next to the Rotec 3600 is Russ Turner. Russ has been following the student project on the blog and was visiting family in Newport News, VA (he resides in TX.) and called to ask if he could see the N24 live and for good reasons. Russ also is a proud owner of a Rotec 3600 engine and he was very interested in some of our work here at the school. His Rotec 3600 eventually will be placed on a full size Sopwith Camel that himself with Airodrome will be building. Looking at all the different models of airplanes from the WW1 era he decided on the Sopwith because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of them around he said. Russ served in the Air Force as a Flight Surgeon during the F4 days and still is an accomplished pilot on various platforms but he wants to get back to the basics. We wish him luck and thanks for stopping in.

Start school now to land that airline job latter.