WWI Student Project

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.”

              call today for an exciting career in aviation

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.

          Follow your aviation dreams, give us a call.

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.

Learn from a school that makes things happen, call us enroll.