AITE students to build an RV‑12 kit plane in Tango Flight aerospace program

AITE's Tango Flight aerospace program gives students hands‑on experience building and learning to operate an RV‑12 kit airplane, program leader Vin Urbanowski told the TLC committee.

"It's a completely immersive STEM experience where students will put tools in their hands and build an actual airplane," Urbanowski said. The class enrolls 20 students who rotate through workshop fabrication, flight training simulators and an academic mathematical‑modeling component. Urbanowski described teams practicing riveting, installing avionics and preparing the airframe for an FAA inspection when the aircraft is complete.

The program pairs students with community mentors including Stamford police officer Rocco Cipri, flight instructor and Stamford High graduate Lucas Wirtz, and local business owner David Paquois; Urbanowski said mentors model careers for students and help build professional networks. The course also includes ground school instruction and online prep materials used by professional pilots; while AITE cannot offer FAA airman certificates directly, Urbanowski said the experience will reduce future training time and help students pursue FAA A&P or flight careers.

Students are also doing research projects: Urbanowski described a team that reverse‑engineered a high‑altitude balloon from a feature film as part of a proposed NASA payload project. He said the program collaborates with local industry and museums for field trips and has connections to regional aviation programs and employers.

The board previously approved Tango Flight's entry to AITE; Urbanowski told members he expects the program to expand interest beyond the enrolled 20 students and generate after‑school opportunities for additional participants. Committee members praised the mentorship model and vocational focus as a pipeline into growing aviation industry needs.