This school year has seen great progress on Southwest High School’s Supreme Dragon Aviation airplane build. The class airplane, a Van's RV-12iS Special Light Sport Aircraft, has had internal wiring, fuel lines, air system plumbing, control cables and electronic flight instrument wiring harnesses installed. Engine wiring has been completed and the propeller assembly is being built. The most recent milestone is the connection of the tail section: the empennage, with the passenger section: the fuselage.
The next big step will be starting the engine for the first time. The Rotax 912 iS Sport airplane engine produces 100 horsepower and can take the plane to an altitude of over 19,000 feet. One of the steps in building an airplane is obtaining a tail number. This formal registration with the Federal Aviation Administration allows builders to select from available numbers following certain numbering rules. Aircraft registered in the United States all have numbers starting with “N” and comply with certain restrictions, like only 5 characters after the N.
For the “Supreme Dragon Aviation” build the number N988SW was chosen. The year 1988 was a “Year of the Dragon” on the ancient lunar calendar and the SW stands for Southwest. Recent speakers include the Tex Hill Wing of the Commemorative Air Force and the Dean of Hallmark Aviation University, located at the San Antonio International Airport. The Dean and his outreach director talked to our aviation students about job placement, industry credentialing and other keys to having a successful technical career.
The Aviation program of study introduces students to the occupations and education opportunities related to inspecting aircraft, maintenance procedures, air navigation aids, air traffic controls, and communication equipment to ensure conformance to federal safety regulations. To learn more about the program click here.