How do you teach guts? How do you teach the spirit of play? How do you teach aerospace? We teach it with the spirit of one of the greatest aviators and the Spirit of St. Louis. The Lindbergh Challenge has been sanctioned by the Lindbergh Foundation. Special certificates will be sent to all participating teams.
I challenge educators everywhere to assemble a team of 33 students to fly at least two flight simulators nonstop for 33 hours while teaching your best STEM and aerospace lessons. Sounds crazy? That’s the point and that drives home the accomplishment of Lindbergh himself. It’s a great way to demonstrate grit and truly understand the story of Charles Lindbergh. The event is simply in honor of one of the world’s great pioneering aviators.
A national challenge started by Diego and Gail Martinez at Center Consolidated School District in Center, Colorado. In 2015, in search of a way of expanding a research history lesson on aviation, we came up with a way to put students in the cockpit of learning. We invited 33 students from our rural public school to participate. It was an experience that gave a purpose for learning all things aerospace and learning about the experience of great aviators in history. Out of the thirty-three students, ten were selected for glider pilot training in Moriarty, NM. The annual event kicked off May 20, 2015 at 7:52 AM, in Center, Colorado, and is currently headquartered in Oregon with Diego (at Delphian School) leading the adventure and working to sign schools from around the local area and nation to participate in this 33.5-hour marathon. On May 20, 2017, (the 90th anniversary of the flight) three Delphian staff, Diego Martinez (SEEC Crew), Gail Martinez and Catherine Emarani, along with seven students from Delphian and several students from surrounding schools “took off” from the Evergreen Museum in a vintage Spirit of St Louis flight simulator. Flight clearance was given by Daniel Newmyer, Education Director for Space Center Houston. Our students used two flight simulators that were flown non-stop for 33.5 hours. They “left” New York and “landed” in Paris, France, 33.5 hours later. With the endorsements of the Lindbergh Foundation and Evergreen Museum, Delphian staff delivered 33.5 hours of Math, Science, Study Technology, drone flight and simulator practice, activities and lessons along with aerospace engineering challenges. Students took shifts at the simulators while aerospace lessons and activities were in session. Evergreen Museum director of education led students on a tour of the museum and showed them a replica of Spirit of St Louis as well as the Spruce Goose. Despite being sleep deprived and overly exhausted, the group accomplished the challenge and all received a special certificate endorsed by all three partner organizations, plus received a pair of aviator glasses donated from a local store. When students “landed” at 5:22 p.m. in Le Bourget Aerodrome, Paris, France, we had a celebration. Students said they felt like they had really learned about planes and flying and accomplished a goal, but mostly they now understood the determination and grit of Charles Lindbergh. The adventure culminated in one of the guest speakers FedEx Air Captain, Scott Allen, announcing that he would personally take the “Top Gun” student pilot to experience a flight. A week later, Allen took Joseph Creekmore from Falls City Public school to “buzz” his school in Allen’s Carbon Scout aircraft. His mom cried as her son was whisked away on the adventure of his life! She couldn’t thank Delphian enough for this great experience. Joe was inspired and concluded that he will definitely have a career in aerospace as a result of this program.
Glider Pilot Training: Since 2013, over forty-five students from dozens of public schools have used Diego’s TESLA 1.0 checksheet to pre-train before their actual glider pilot training. Their maiden flights were all led by Diego driving a bus to Moriarty, NM, to fly gliders with Sundance Aviation. Students’ eyes lit up when the instructor said that Neil Armstrong trained at that very airfield. 95% of these students from rural Colorado had never even been on a plane much less flown one. Teaching Extraordinary Students Lessons in Aerospace