Touching the Sky

Have you heard about the Aviation Club? It’s a club that North Scott, Pleasant Valley, and Bettendorf high school put together to build an actual airplane! Elizabeth Richards, one of the advisors of the club, said that the parts come from a factory in Oregon and students in the area build it at the bus barn. I asked Richards what specifically her role in the club was. She said, “each school has at least one advisor who helps with student organization, communication, and safety.” With her background in Naval aviation, she is also a mentor for the build.

The club has gone on many field trips to places like Chris Welvaert’s home build shop to look at some of the planes he’s working on, and to the Davenport Airport to look at different types of planes. The students have been training for a while but started constructing the plane in October 2021. The plane is a two-seater called RV12 and yes, it will be fully operational! Students are still welcome to join the club; the club meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8:30 pm and Saturday from 8-11am. It’s a great club that joins districts together to create something amazing and bigger than ourselves. Please click this QR code if you or someone you know might be interested.