What Began As One Music Teacher’s Hobby Has Become A Passion For Many

By Susan Coney

Newtown Middle School has been given a unique opportunity to include students in hands-on experiences thanks to one of its talented teachers, Jonathan Pope. The students of the school have had the chance to test new radio control technology in the form of an advanced flight simulator for model airplanes, offering them the benefits of a new learning experience.

Mr Pope, who has taught choral music at Newtown Middle School for more than a decade, has a second love other than music: the love of model aviation. Always an avid technology buff, Mr Pope joined forces with Newtown Middle School technology education teacher Don Ramsey to form a flying club for the students at the school.

The educators started the club in September 2004 and met with students on a weekly basis, with an average of ten students participating. The students started out learning how to fly radio control (RC) airplanes using an advanced flight simulator computer program called the Ikarus AeroFly Professional Flight Simulator and then moved on to flying the real thing using the accompanying slow-flying plane, Ikarus Bleriot III.

“Mr Ramsey and I worked to relate the club to the school’s math and science everyday curriculum. We started with an informal club,” said Mr Pope. In addition to Ikarus Bleriot III, the students also worked with blimps, flying saucers, helicopters, and other radio control airplanes. “The school system was kind enough to help us get one computer that has the flight simulator program on it, a pilot program that helps students learn hand and eye coordination,” Mr Pope said.

Ikarus USA, the company that produced the software, announced the introduction of a new nationwide program to grow the RC hobby through the school system and Mr Pope brought that program to Newtown Middle School. The flight simulator exposes computer-savvy kids to the pleasures of RC flying. The program can be used to teach students how to fly, gain practice and confidence in performing more complicated maneuvers, and provides accessibility when weather or time restrictions prohibit real flying experiences.

Mr Pope said that after just a few sessions on the flight simulator students are able to handle a virtual model and are ready for their first solo experience. The advanced programmability features of the computer software provides almost limitless opportunities because students are able to adjust every parameter of a plane’s setup graphically, allowing students to see immediately the effects of their decisions when flying.

After students perfected the knack for flying on the simulator they tested their skills flying the lightweight Bleriot on the back athletic field at the middle school. The students passed the controls around and tried their hand at performing various maneuvers.

Mr Pope stated that unlike heavy, expensive, gasoline RC planes from the past, today’s versions are lightweight and affordable.

“The average person could easily start the hobby with a $150 investment. Crashing is part of the hobby, but with today’s planes being made of Styrofoam they are easily fixed and back up in a short amount of time,” he said.

Newtown High School freshman Tom Mastrocinque was one of the first students to be part of the flying club at the middle school. He has greatly benefited from the program and has a new passion for flying RC planes.

“This probably is the first thing outside of school that truly made science fun. I’m not really all that interested in science but this is different,” Tom said.

“Tom is one of those students who showed immediate aptitude for this,” said Mr Pope. “When dealing with three-dimensional images it immediately gets very challenging.”

Said Don Ramsey, “It is almost as if Newtown schools will become a laboratory for some of the vendors wanting the students to try out different models. Mr Pope, who is so well-known for his musical talent, is drawing other people into all of this high tech stuff; he is a kid at heart and loves gadgets. Various companies give him a model, he’ll build it, fly it, and then he’ll write an article on how it is to build and fly the model from a technical point of view.”

Mr Pope has written numerous articles for Fly RC, the largest worldwide magazine written for RC plane enthusiasts. The publication is written by modelers for modelers, providing them with the latest in radio control products, technology, and techniques. It offers information geared for both the novice and experienced flyer, as well as product reviews. Mr Pope has several articles in Fly RC’s April 2006 publication. His experiences with the middle school students has assisted him in testing products for user friendliness.

The flying club continues to meet on Fridays after school and with weather permitting, the students practice their aviator skills on the school’s athletic field.