Flying high: Aircraft-mad Hawke's Bay students build microlight

It's thumbs up for a great job from project manager Pete Steers (in glasses) and his seven aircraft-mad young builders. Photo / Supplied

There is no mistaking the remarkable and devoted handiwork of Hawke's Bay and East Coast Aero Club secretary Pete Steers and the construction crew he calls "absolutely aircraft-mad" students.

For their handiwork, a Vans RV12 light aircraft bears the registration SMB.

Student Microlight Build.

It has been a long, challenging and ultimately satisfying construction journey for the young crew who sparked into action in November 2017 and who have now rolled out the aircraft on to the aero club's runway.

It will become even more satisfying when they go through the flight learning process and each get to fly it.

Steers said 12 students embarked on the project, although the number dropped to seven over the two years.

Jacob Yardley, Jarred Lister, Lachlan Ross, Cameron Steed, Leo Day, Tyler Loveder and Finn Jackson were there at the end to see the final rivets go in.

Steers said the aero club took the idea on after seeing the positive effects it had within the Mercury Bay (Area) School in Whitianga about nine years ago.

It introduced young people to a range of skills, involved steel, aluminium and fibreglass work, along with riveting, drilling and other construction techniques they would not normally learn.

Plus, it ended with building something they could be proud of, and get to fly after going through the training processes.

"I'm very proud of them," Steers said.

It had been two years of devoting five hours every Saturday for the teenagers. As well as the physical building of the US-designed aircraft, it meant lots of plan-reading and watching technical videos.

The $115,000 project was made possible through a $33,000 grant from the Eastern and Central Community Trust, and the club continued to source funding to complete it.

The build was overseen by two aircraft engineers and the finished article had been thoroughly inspected, and signed off to fly, by a qualified aircraft engineer.

Steers said he was a "bit nervous" when it was first sent up for a test flight but was delighted with what he saw.

"Went really well — lots of smiles," he said.

The smiles are set to continue. A buyer is almost confirmed for SMB, which means the club can order and pay for another light aircraft kit for another construction journey.

And a new set of students will take on the task.