If you have missed any updates from Burnside State High School, they are here for you to view at your leisure.

  Update received from teacher Adrian Casten

The empennage is complete and now in Narromine awaiting the other components.

Our Sport Aircraft Association of Australia aircraft project has come to an end with our Year 12s, the student built aircraft will have its final assembly and approvals in Narromine. I am pleased to announce that Billy (centre) will be given the opportunity to gain flight training in this aircraft when it arrives in Queensland.

           

 

Below is an update as of 21 July 2022

Exciting times at Burnside State High School yesterday!   The ‘loaner’ Zenith 750 aircraft kit box arrived and was presented to the school by Mr James Fisher,.CEO of Swish Projects.   The plan is for students in years 11 and 12 to complete the kit as part of the schools’ Aviation Program and thus gain experience in aviation engineering.   At the completion of the build the completed aircraft will then return to its owner, Swish Projects.

Burnside State High School is one of three local schools being assisted by the local Chapter of the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia in aircraft builds and there to witness the hand-over and assist were the schools’ SAAA mentors, John Butler, Graeme Lean, TC Bob Veale and Sunshine Coast Chapter 22 President Chris Wilson.  Burnside was of course one of the schools who participated in the SAAA RV12 build recently.

Burnside’s Department Head of  Technology/Alternate Programs Luke Ward with Teacher Adrian Casten presented the SAAA with a certificate of appreciation for the SAAA’s  recent donation to them of $1,500 for tools for their upcoming building project.

Presentation photo persons are from left,  Mr James Fisher of Swish Projects, John Butler, Luke Ward, Graeme Lean, Chris Wilson and Adrian Casten.

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JUNE 2021

This is my final report of the Sport Aircraft Association (SAAA) of Australia Youth Aircraft Build and Fly Program at the Burnside State High School (SHS).

I am not sure if all of the members of the SAAA – or all of the teachers and students at Burnside SHS – understand what this program has meant for the participants in the program. I know that from my perspective, it has given me -personally – a great deal of pleasure to be involved with the program and observe how the program has changed the participating students, how it has developed skills and abilities that they didn’t have at the beginning. I have observed how young people have commenced the program unsure of their own abilities to embark on such a journey, let alone build their abilities to enable completion as a team. It has really been a remarkable journey of development and achievement for them all.

Throughout this journey, students have not just participated as individuals, but as active and effective members of small teams – part of the larger team – to bring the aircraft kit pieces to life as a major component of a real aircraft. They functioned not just as team members, but as team leaders, leading their colleagues in their creative journey to solve problems, apply intelligence and innovation to tasks, research solutions to problems that arose and supply energy and enthusiasm – and a sense of humour – to crafting and creating the end result. It has been a memorable experience for the mentors and the students.

The final task for our group was to assemble all of the built components into the final product – the Empennage, vertical stabiliser and rudder and horizontal stabiliser and servo tab. This activity was completed for a day when the media was invited to attend to place on record the achievements of the participants, their teacher and their school. I believe that the students and their teacher have done their school proud in the way they have approached the program and the final result.

The components will now be loaded on SAAA member Graeme Lean’s vehicle for the trip to Narromine for assembly into a completed aircraft. The wing from Meuller College at Rothwell will be included in the load to ease the burden of transport. As part of the organising the loading of the wing, I had the pleasure of meeting the students that participated in that build also. They are a bright and happy group who are proud of their accomplishments and are embarking on building a Zenith 601HD kit.

As I mentioned earlier, it has been a great pleasure to be involved in this program. SAAA members and it’s leaders should be very pleased with the results of the program and the benefits that will accrue to the young participants for many years to come.

John Butler

MARCH 2021

This is a brief report on the second week back to building for 2021. The project is nearing completion for us, so it’s important to capture as much of the project as possible in the short time that we have left.

Our components are really starting to look like a real aircraft! What started out as a “box of parts” is now starting to resemble an aircraft, with empennage, vertical stabiliser and horizontal stabiliser all coming together in recognisable components.

The students are starting to get very excited as they work diligently on the project. There is more competition to do the “interesting” things, like placing skins on structures, placing and pulling rivets and attaching fairings. The excitement in the room is palpable. Students are volunteering to do even the menial tasks (there are still parts to be de-burred and treated with anti-corrosion material) to progress the project overall. It seems that all students think that we should have more time per session to “get the job done”.

We still have some way to go, with some of the detail work to be completed, but the excitement is building!

It is an absolute pleasure to be involved with this project and see the positive benefits that it bestows on our participants.

Lainey is arranging a meeting in order that we can have contact with other groups building their part of the aircraft. That would be the “icing on the cake” for an activity that is unique and exciting in a normal academic year.

DECEMBER 2020

This is the final report on the Sport Aircraft Association Australia Youth Build and Fly Program at Burnside State High School for 2020. It seems like no sooner had we returned from school holidays at the end of term three, we were winding down the program for the end of the year. Further complicating the program were the various assessments and exams that the students had to complete for the academic year. It was certainly a very busy time for mentors and students. The program advanced rapidly in the space of a few short weeks, however, as little pieces started to become aircraft components with recognisable aircraft shapes.

The students could start to see some progress for their efforts – at last! There were some anxious moments with countersinking and solid rivet squeezing for all of the elements of the build, as all components had some of these tasks to be completed prior to assembly of the components.

The mentors put in some extra effort prior to the classes to ensure that their skills were up to the task and that the students could get working on their component as soon as they assembled in the workshop. This extra effort paid dividends with students ramping up their involvement, interest and motivation and maximising their workshop time. There was a “buzz” in the workshop at the start of each session, with students poring over plans and instructions with the inevitable “what’s next” question. It was interesting to observe the natural leaders emerge from this process, as students just wanted to dive in and get on with it. It certainly galvanised the mentors and the build sessions became full of energetic, motivated students pushing to get things done before the holidays arrived.

The final day was a bit of an anti-climax, with some students distracted by exams and assessments – and the prospect of eight weeks of holidays. But structures continued to get built and progress was made. The build components are now in hibernation in their storage for the holidays and will emerge again in 2021 for further attention and completion. The same students that started the build will complete it, so the crew will be back in action, as will the mentors.

It has been a very satisfying and enjoyable year for the mentors, notwithstanding the effects of pandemic lock downs and the disruptions to the program and the school curriculum. We are all looking forward to 2021!

 

SEPTEMBER 2020

After the impressive official “opening of the box” ceremony with media presence at Burnside State High School, it was back to the minutia and hard work of preparing for the construction of our part of the aircraft. We are constructing the rear fuselage, vertical and horizontal stabiliser, rudder and elevator and associated hardware and moving parts. Our first construction session was like the students had discovered Aladdin’s Cave. The excitement was palpable, as they first removed the parts from the shipping box and sorted the into easily accessible boxes and crates for the construction sessions. There were smiles all round as they held the parts in their hands and examined the drawings to see where the parts all fitted into our aircraft structure. There were lots of questions about where individual parts fitted, and the answer “look at the drawings” was followed by a lot of searching the drawings, conversation amongst themselves and satisfied smiles once the answer was found. This was a great exercise in getting to know the aircraft components and where they will eventually fit into the aircraft structure. The initial enthusiasm was dampened a little bit by the next step – de-burring the parts to make a start on the structure. Aircraft builders and maintainers are remarkably familiar with this process which can be repetitive and a bit boring – but necessary – part of aircraft constructing and maintenance. They all got stuck into the process and soon we had a stack of “de-burred” parts. All the students got excited about the next step – building structures from the pile of parts. The second session was dedicated to assembling parts into structures. The students were very focussed on reading the plans and instructions, checking the parts for correct orientation, and finally clecoing parts together. Some groups pulled them apart again and rebuilt them, just because they could.  As the sessions progress, the number of parts will decrease, and the structures will grow in size and complexity to look like an aircraft. That will be extremely exciting.  The SAAA mentors are getting as much out of this process as the students. This is going to be a great aircraft.

AUGUST 2020 Update received from John Butler – Local Cordinator and Mentor

The group of twelve students at Burnside State High School in Nambour, Queensland, is working steadily towards building their skill levels to the point where they can commence building the Vans RV-12iS kit aircraft with confidence in their ability to tackle the build and complete it to a high standard. Their teacher, Adrian Casten, has been instrumental in introducing the “Aviation Stream” to Burnside. Aviation commences in year nine, with students building radio-controlled models made of wood, foam and paper, all the way up to year twelve students scratch building a Zenith 701 aircraft. The activities take place in the school’s metalwork classrooms and workshops which are very well equipped and well laid out for student learning activities, as you would expect in a school of this caliber. The students are normal happy, healthy teenagers that are gradually acquiring a taste for precise metalwork and a sense of anticipation for what is about to begin – the building of the tail cone, Horizontal and vertical stabiliser, rudder and elevator of the Vans RV-12 iS Sport Aviation Association of Australia Youth Aircraft Build and Fly Program aircraft. The kit has not arrived at the school yet, but the excitement is building amongst the students. SAAA Chapter 22, based at Caboolture Airfield, is developing a close relationship with the school. So far, the Chapter has resolved to partner with the school and work closely together to ensure the success of the program and successful outcomes for the students. Chapter 22 has resolved to donate $500 to the program at Burnside and $500 to Mueller College involved in the program and building sections of the aircraft. The Chapter has also arranged a Chapter meeting at the school, so that members can meet the students, teachers, parents, and the Principal who are all key to the success of the program and the students learning journey. Burnside State High School has generously invited all Chapter members and their partners to a barbecue hosted by the school to assist in cementing the relationship between Chapter 22 and the school. Chapter 22 members will view the facilities at the school, meet the students and teachers and witness first-hand the great work that the SAAA program is doing and the very positive impact that it is having on the students and their futures. I believe that the SAAA program is an investment in the future of our young people and aviation. With SAAA developing this unique and innovative program, we are all helping to promote our passion for building and flying aircraft to the general community and the most important recipients of the program – our future generations of builders and flyers.

JULY 2020 Update received from John Butler – Local Cordinator and Mentor

The group of twelve students at Burnside State High School in Nambour, Queensland, is working steadily towards building their skill levels to the point where they can commence building the Vans RV-12iS kit aircraft with confidence in their ability to tackle the build and complete it to a high standard. Their teacher, Adrian Casten, has been instrumental in introducing the “Aviation Stream” to Burnside. Aviation commences in year nine, with students building radio-controlled models made of wood, foam and paper, all the way up to year twelve students scratch building a Zenith 701 aircraft. The activities take place in the school’s metalwork classrooms and workshops which are very well equipped and well laid out for student learning activities, as you would expect in a school of this caliber. The students are normal happy, healthy teenagers that are gradually acquiring a taste for precise metalwork and a sense of anticipation for what is about to begin – the building of the tail cone, Horizontal and vertical stabiliser, rudder and elevator of the Vans RV-12 iS Sport Aviation Association of Australia Youth Aircraft Build and Fly Program aircraft. The kit has not arrived at the school yet, but the excitement is building amongst the students. SAAA Chapter 22, based at Caboolture Airfield, is developing a close relationship with the school. So far, the Chapter has resolved to partner with the school and work closely together to ensure the success of the program and successful outcomes for the students. Chapter 22 has resolved to donate $500 to the program at Burnside and $500 to Mueller College involved in the program and building sections of the aircraft. The Chapter has also arranged a Chapter meeting at the school, so that members can meet the students, teachers, parents, and the Principal who are all key to the success of the program and the students learning journey. Burnside State High School has generously invited all Chapter members and their partners to a barbecue hosted by the school to assist in cementing the relationship between Chapter 22 and the school. Chapter 22 members will view the facilities at the school, meet the students and teachers and witness first-hand the great work that the SAAA program is doing and the very positive impact that it is having on the students and their futures. I believe that the SAAA program is an investment in the future of our young people and aviation. With SAAA developing this unique and innovative program, we are all helping to promote our passion for building and flying aircraft to the general community and the most important recipients of the program – our future generations of builders and flyers.