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Sisters, Oregon
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Aviation class had a successful takeoff
By Rongi Yost

Aviation class visits the Evergreen Museum of Aviation in McMinnville, Oregon.

Jim Harrison's aviation class has been very well received by the students at Sisters High School. It was the first time an aviation class had been offered.

Twenty-four students took the class, which according to Harrison was "actually too big."

Harrison's aviation class enjoyed a variety of experiences throughout the semester. During the first several weeks of class, students got some hands-on experience. They built two model airplanes made of balsa wood and tissue.

"The first model gave the students hands-on experience in building a model and gave them exposure to the fundamental concepts of aviation," Harrison said. "They were also able to identify the major parts of an airplane."

The second model was more involved and much more time consuming.

Harrison explained, "The wings of the plane were more characteristic of actual wings on a real airplane and the students learned about the principles of an air foil (the wing)."

Students purchased A Pilot's Handbook, an FAA publication. This book contains ground school information necessary to prepare for the written exam to get a pilot's license.

A lot of time was spent in the first chapter, which covered the Principles of Flight. Students learned about the physics of aviation and used their airplane models as aids to help them understand these concepts.

The class viewed several videos on aviation throughout the trimester and were privileged to have a number of guest speakers including veterans' speaker Dave Carey and local resident Jack Addison.

Both of these men flew planes in the military.

Mary Schu, president and founder of Wings of the Cascades Aviation Training in Redmond, spoke to Harrison's students. At Wings of the Cascades flight training, pilot refresher courses and instrument refesher courses are offfered and FAA approved.

"Ms. Schu gave the students a look at aviation from the commercial end of things," Harrison said.

Harrison pointed out that Schu's visit occured on September 12, just one day after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

"There was a lot of discussion related to that," Harrison said.

One of the highlights of the class was visiting the Evergreen Museum of Aviation in McMinnville, Oregon. The museum houses World War Two vintage aircraft all in flying order. The students were given a guided tour by an air force veteran who had flown combat in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam.

The tour guide was 21 years old when he flew his B-17 over Germany. He shared his experiences and stories with the students and showed a piece of shrapnel that he'd been carrying with him since it landed in his lap during a raid over Germany.

The tour guide pointed out the special features of the B-17. Students also saw the famous "Spruce Goose" which Harrison described as, "a nondescript big airplane compared to everything else we saw there."

Through the last several weeks students have been working on a major research project pertaining to some aspect of aviation. Several students created models as support to their oral or written reports.

On three different occasions Harrison was able to actually take some of his students up in an airplane. They'd fly for about 20 minutes, land, let the students switch places and be off again. They flew around the Sisters, Redmond, and Prineville areas, and were able to get an aerial view of Smith Rock, Three Fingered Jack and the North Sister.

Once Harrison had the plane in the air, everything checked and running smoothly, he'd turn over the controls to the student sitting next to him up in the front right seat and let him or her fly the plane.

"I know without a doubt that several of my students will go on and get their pilot's license. They've got what we call the 'flying gene,'" he said.

Harrison has had a love for flying all his life and has flown radio controlled airplanes for a hobby for many years. Four years ago, he completed his year-long training and obtained his pilot's license.

"I've wanted to fly all my life," he said. "I'd just never had the financial resources to act upon it until recently."

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