To say a solid left wing has been built at Lyndale Secondary College is not a political statement.
Rather, it’s literally an impressive feat of aeronautics by the college’s high-flying aviation students.
They were one of five schools in Australia – the only in Victoria – taking part in a national Highflyers project that collectively assembles an RV-12 aircraft.
Covid of course created some turbulence to the project.
But on 21 May, students, staff, their Sport Aircraft Association of Australia mentors and Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams looked on the gleaming product.
The wing is set for delivery to the SAAA headquarters in Narromine, NSW.
There the finished aircraft is assembled from the components made at each of the five schools.
Eventually the plane will fly south, giving Lyndale’s students the chance to fly their handiwork.
“Trying something new and different inspired me to join the plane build,” Lyndale student Sophea said.
“You will never know if you’ll need this experience in the future, if you want to be an engineer or something.”
During a deep Covid lockdown from July 2020, the students were off-campus but the project wasn’t entirely grounded.
Students learnt theory while online with their SAAA mentors, pilots and authors.
Back at school in 2021, they finally got down to construction. On went the wing skins, the wiring and the riveting.
“I am passionate about planes and I wanted to know how they actually work from the inside and out,” student Harshmeet said.
“I have learnt knowledge of how planes work and how they are able to operate.”
SAAA members were impressed with the students’ resilience.
“Some of them might go on to build an aircraft, maybe not many, maybe only 1 per cent of all of them might end up in the aviation industry,” mentor Brian said of the students.
“But that doesn’t matter.
“They could be in a workshop somewhere else, they might be in charge of a team planning something, understanding documentation … there’s all sorts of openings.”
