ACES (Aerospace Center of Excellence Sandpoint)

We call it ACES Workshop. We meet Saturday mornings 9 AM at the Sandpoint Airport in the ACES hangar to work on building an airplane. The plane is a Zenith CH601XL-B Zodiac. It is a light sport plane with two seats and a 100-horse power engine. Students work in teams with supervision from an FAA licensed aircraft mechanic with each team specializing in a different part of construction, including the fuselage team, the engine team, the electrical team and the flight test team. The engine has been built from scratch and is now mounted on the plane.

All students are welcome to join, but it takes a commitment to team work and following instructions exactly. We have students grades 8 - 12 from all over North Idaho. If all goes as planned, the CH601XL Zodiac will under go flight testing this summer and get FAA certification as an airworthy, safe plane. Watch for updates at www.highschoolaerospace.org.