MD-80 airplane donated to OSU by American Airlines
Airline News
Oklahoma State University plans to modify the passenger airplane and use it for further student education
American Airlines donates a retired MD-80 passenger airplane to OSU, as Stillwater Regional Airport hosted the plane on Wednesday. The plane was active in the American Airlines fleet until Sept 12, when the company decided to stop using it.
The plane will be modified by OSU in the next few weeks and used for science, technology and engineering student education. Turning the plane into a teaching and learning laboratory will give mechanical and aerospace engineering students the possibility to practically study the inside of a plane. The aircraft will be an additional learning tool for students to benefit, as before the donation students could only study in the research and manufacturing labs of aerospace engineering department at OSU.
“It will also be a place for students to do their senior design projects”, James Kidd, mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor at OSU declared.
“We’re going to challenge the capstone students to create STEM activities for younger students,” Kidd added.
Shawn Parsons, aerospace engineering senior and the OSU chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics president, sees the plane as an opportunity for both OSU aerospace students as well as middle school and high-school students who join educational camps:
“Currently, it’s really hard for (aerospace) classes to have hands on labs because normally we don’t have planes because they’re really expensive. So, it’s a great way for us to get hands on experience.”
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