College students flying high with aircraft addition

Staff and students at Central Sussex College gathered to watch the arrival of a two-seater aircraft to the college from Redhill Aerodrome earlier this month.

Four aeronautical engineering students travelled to Redhill Aerodrome with lecturer Zahid Khan to prepare the plane to move to its new home.

The students worked together to remove the wings, empty the petrol tank and ensure it was safe for transportation.

Students Lukasz Tomaszewski, 20, from Horsham and Canaan Weller, 22, from East Grinstead described the overall experience as ‘fantastic’.

Lukasz said: “It was a great opportunity to be able to prepare the plane for its transportation here and it feels so good to have it at the college”.

Programme area manager Zahid Khan talked about the benefits the plane would have on the Aeronautical Engineering course: “Aeronautical is one of the most diverse industries to work in and provides many different routes towards career progression.

“With the UK’s aeronautical industry set to expand significantly in the next decade, I am very excited about having this plane for students to work on.

“It will be incorporated into their current modules and I am so pleased that we are improving the learner experience at the college as well as delivering courses relevant to current industry practices”.

Talking about the advantages the plane would have for future students, Canaan said “This plane is not just for us, future engineers at the college will be able to use it and gain loads of amazing practical experience”.

Now housed in the college’s engineering department, the small plane will immediately become part of the students’ practical element of their course.

Additionally it will be used alongside their theory studies to develop their aeronautical skills including aircraft maintenance, aircraft instrument and indicating systems and aerodynamics.

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