Local pilots to share knowledge, experiences with Wahluke students

DESERT AIRE – For the third consecutive year, private pilots who reside at and fly out of Desert Aire will share their knowledge and experiences with Wahluke High School STEM students.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics students will by greeted by the pilots at the Sagebrush Senior Center at 8 a.m. this Thursday, Sept. 28.

The pilots will be briefed about their activities, and the students will receive an outline of the academic presentation. There will be a demonstration and display table in the senior center.

“I will then break the kids up into four to six groups (as many groups as we have airplanes parked on the ramp next to the Senior Center) for individual aircraft tours,” Desert Aire Airport Commissioner Ken Broda said.

Broda presents the pilots for self-introductions and to share with the students the roles aviation has played in their lives, professional, military or recreational.

To fill the academic requirement of the field trip, Broda will make a formal presentation about Newton’s laws of motion, Bernoulli’s principal of lift generation, and the basic forces acting on an aircraft during flight and how the pilot controls these forces.

After 45 minutes in the classroom, students will proceed to the flight line for individual aircraft displays and interview of the pilots at their respective aircraft.

Students and pilots will regroup at the Senior Center for lunch and additional interaction between the students and pilots.