We built it. We flew it. WOW!

Today was our last, and most anticipated day of the week. We finally got to launch the Aerosonde! After all our hard work, safety meetings, and tests, we finally made it. It was the best thing ever!

 

We started today with our pilot’s briefing. There, the final arrangements were made, and the flight plan was confirmed. It was also established that the specific model we built wouldn’t be allowed to fly for safety reasons. This was good because if something happened, we wouldn’t be blamed. This took a lot of pressure off our shoulders. No matter what model we used, I still knew it would be fun.

 

After that, we had a safety briefing. This was basically a meeting where we learned our limitations. Some of our limitations were not touching the plane, controls, or radios.

Our team at Wallops!

It was a little disappointing, but we did get to act like we were using them before flight day. NASA has very strict safety rules, but they were very nice in giving us as much experience as we could.

 

Finally, it was flight time. We all piled into four vans and waited for the control tower to give permission for us to drive onto the tarmac. It was done just like a normal airport, and our flight was delayed for half an hour. But at one-thirty, we set out for the runway. It took at least 20 minutes to get to the runway. When we got to the runway, everyone took their places. It was time to launch!

 

At two o’clock, the Aerosonde took off. It was so exciting to see the plane finally take off after three long days of learning about and working with it. We were all

Getting ready for the launch

surprised at how high the little plane could fly. It could have easily been mistaken for a much larger plane. I knew it could fly, but I didn’t think it would fly so well. My favorite part was when it landed. It flew around in a downward spiral slowly, and then lined up perfectly with the runway. Those Aerosonde pilots are skilled. Watching the flight was like becoming an Argonaut all over again. It was really cool, and I will never forget it.