Student to tell her plane-building story
Tehachapi program has spotlight at Mojave event
MOJAVE — Tehachapi’s Build-A-Plane program not only has resulted in a flyable airplane, but also has had a positive, lasting impact on those high school students who have participated.
One of those students, Meghan Salzman, will tell her story, on Saturday, at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
“I began attending the Tehachapi Build-a-Plane program in my junior year of high school, and it changed my life for the better,” Salzman said in a brief biographical note. “When I joined the program, I was a quiet, shy girl who was intimidated by math. Through Build-a-Plane, I was incrementally challenged with opportunities to build my character and expand my skill set. As I mastered different tasks, took on leadership positions, and learned the value of a little elbow grease, my confidence soared, and I learned to apply myself to school in the same way in which I applied myself to Build-a-Plane.”
Salzman is studying for an engineering degree at Bakersfield College, and is leading a female engineering club.
Salzman will speak at 11 a.m. in the Board Room, in the Administration Building at the end of Airport Boulevard at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
“I’m really excited to hear what she has to say,” organizer Cathy Hansen said.
The Build-A-Plane program, spearheaded by aerospace retiree Paul Nafziger and a host of others with aviation experience, began about four years ago in a Tehachapi hangar.
Aligned with Valley Oaks Charter High School, the separate program hosts students from various schools.
Earlier this year, the students completed building a Zenith CH750 Cruzer, a two-seat, high-wing airplane, which took its first flight last month.
Nafziger will fly the completed airplane to Mojave for display, Saturday, weather permitting.
Salzman’s talk and the aircraft display are part of the monthly Plane Crazy Saturday, hosted by the Mojave Transportation Museum Foundation.
The free, family-friendly educational event features a flight line filled with aircraft of varied types and vintages, available for visitors to see up-close.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission to the flight line with its displays is through the Voyager restaurant, in the Administration building. The restaurant opens for breakfast at 8 a.m.
Animals, other than service animals, are not permitted on the flight line.
Saturday’s event will also be an opportunity to donate new, unwrapped toys for the Toys for CHiPs toy drive, filling a California Highway Patrol car with toys to be distributed to children in need this holiday season.