MASSEY — Kent County High School rising senior Aiden Ruiz Velázquez is among the six graduates of this year’s one-week summer class titled “Grassroots Aviation Engineering” offered by Massey Air Museum.
The program concluded Friday, Aug. 7 at the Massey Aerodrome.
High school students interested in aviation were recruited from KCHS, Caesar Rodney High School in Magnolia, Delaware, First State Military Academy in Clayton, Delaware and the Civil Air Patrol DE-025 Middletown, Delaware Cadet Squadron [CAP].
The course is offered at no cost to local high school-age students who may be considering a career in aviation, whether as a pilot, a technician or an engineer.
Course subjects are aerodynamics; aircraft components and structures; sheet metal and fabric covering; machine shop practice; electrical systems; flight planning; and navigation.
Each student received two airplane flights, one in a Piper Arrow [four-place cabin, light aircraft] and one in a Stearman biplane [open cockpit, tandem seat, World War II military trainer].
The Piper flight experience included an engineering problem-solving exercise.
On the last day, each student flew a rubber band-powered model aircraft that they had built from scratch under the direction of Massey instructor Larry Folsom.
The best of the model airplanes achieved a flight duration of 30 seconds in the Aug. 7 competition — no easy task.
Each student also built and launched a model rocket that at its apogee would eject a parachute-equipped capsule containing a raw egg. It is worth noting that all six eggs survived without cracking.
The 2026 graduates are Lucas Paxson and Gabriel Powell of First State Military Academy; Aiden Ruiz Velázquez of Kent County High School; Jackson Quinonez of Civil Air Patrol; and Madison Fellabaum and Noah Sanchez of Caesar Rodney High School.
