‘It’s super exciting’: China Spring students continue progress on plane, hope to finish before spring semester

CHINA SPRING, Texas (KWTX) - At the start of last school year, KWTX took you into the shop of the advanced engineering class at China Spring High School where a class full of juniors embarked on a journey of building a plane from scratch.

Those juniors are now seniors and have a full year if work under their belt, and the plane is starting to look more complete.

Not only has it been an incredible experience for the class, but it has also been as fun for the engineering and aviation community to get involved.

Checking back in with the class, KWTX has learned that they're now working on two planes, instead of just one.

Alan Abel saw our initial report on what the kids were doing at the start of the 2023 school year and knew he wanted to be a part of helping their future take flight.

"My daughter saw the program and said 'Hey dad! They're building a plane just like yours,'" Abel said. "That plane over there is the one that I started. They've done some canopy work and some finishes that I wasn't able to do."

Abel started working on the plane many years ago and moved it with him around the state, but it has since spent many years collecting dust.

Abel says he has no connection to the China Spring community but that he saw an opportunity to help elevate theses students and equip them with the tools they need to pursue a career in stem.

"I think it gives them a lot of self-worth and feeling like 'I did that. I did that,'" Abel said.

China Spring Advanced Engineering class teacher Jeff Bray says having Abel there is rewarding for everyone.

"It's really cool when he gets to come in here," Bray said. "You get to see a sparkle. He lights up. And he's really excited and I am too. It's fun to talk to him about it and get his perspectives on things he's done and where we're at right now.

"When they come and ask me a question, they're not coming to ask me what to do. They're just double checking themselves. They already know how to do it; they just want to make sure they're doing it right.

"It's honestly just great knowing that there are people around who want to see the next generation so successful," said senior Easton Roby.

Roby says his mindset is fixated on what's next, but that this class has helped him figure that out quicker.

"That's what I'm hoping to do, is go to college for engineering," Roby said. "So, I'm hoping this will look really good on some applications to give me a little basis and a steppingstone into the engineering community."

Each day in class is one step closer to seeing what they built in action.

"It's super exciting," Roby said. "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing some of these up in the air."

Bray says he hopes that this is just the beginning of what's to come for STEM at China Spring ISD.

"I hope at some point this program can grow to where Tango Flight every two years is plugging two planes into China Spring, so we are always working on a plane," Bray said.

The class hopes to have the entire plane they started building last year finished by the spring semester, that way it can go through every possible inspection.