ROGERS -- Airplane careers were the focus for fifth-graders at Russell D. Jones Elementary School this week.
Classes heard from aviation experts, built paper planes with pilots to learn about aerodynamics Wednesday and Thursday and toured the Rogers Municipal Airport on Friday.
Fast Facts
Rogers Airport
The Rogers Municipal Airport has:
• 6,000-foot runway
• Air traffic control tower
• Onsite U.S. Customs
• Fire station and aircraft rescue unit
• 311,000 square feet of hangar space
Source: City Of Rogers
Students made orange construction paper tubes and directed air traffic, marshaling invisible planes during a visit from Doc Ricker, assistant manager of Beaver Lake Aviation, fixed-base operator at the airport.
Once a plane is ready to park, pilots don't hear from the tower, but follow the orange wands, Ricker told students.
Hands above their head they signaled the pilot to follow them, then crossed their wands to stop a plane.
"There's a lot more than flying and maintenance in aviation," Ricker said.
Debbie Monger, air traffic controller at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, showed students maps of the routes planes use.
"We have airways in the sky just like we have highways on the ground," Monger said.
She told students about the air traffic controllers who talk to pilots in the air and on the ground. Weather delays can be caused by weather in the destination city, even if where you are looks sunny, Monger said.
Roads for a car can have a few rough spots, but a runway can't have potholes, said David Krutsch, Rogers Municipal Airport manager.
"It has to be perfect all the time," Krutsch said.
The weight of a plane touches the ground on each wheel, but that may be only six points, he said. By comparison, a tractor-trailer may weigh the same as a jet, but it has 18 wheels. That would be the difference between a fifth-grader putting his or her weight on a piece of cardboard with one hand or breaking through that cardboard by exerting the same force on a pencil point, Krutsch said.
He showed them the aviation ABCs -- or Alpha, Bravo, Charlies -- and students practiced reading call signs on a plane.
At its busiest, there can be 70 or 80 planes on the ground at one time at Rogers Municipal Airport, Krutsch said. Planes can fly non-stop from Rogers to Russia, provided they can hold enough fuel, he said.
Students learned about careers surrounding the airport, but also concepts of math and science, said Elizabeth Smith, teacher. This is the first time the school has had an aerospace week.
The communication aspect of flying fascinated Jazzlyn Elliot, a fifth-grader. Her aunt, who will be flying soon, loves to know how things work, and Jazzlyn said she's excited to be able to tell her about what she learned.
Student Cody White said he was awed by the way controllers can talk to several airplanes, tell them how to line up in the sky and follow the air routes.
Being a pilot or maybe an air traffic controller now interests him as a career, he said.
NW News on 05/31/2014