STUDENTS at Heathrow Aviation Engineering University Technical College will be reaching for the skies as they take part in a project to build their own two-seater Sherwood Ranger light bi-plane.

The project, which is being supported by the Light Aircraft Association, will involve teams from the Potter Street, Northwood, college, building the plane from scratch, with the ultimate goal of seeing their aircraft take off.

It began in last month and seven students are currently being trained as project leaders.

They will work with smaller groups to manufacture the aircraft to the standards required by the Light Aircraft Association, which will carry out regular inspections of the manufactured sections.

Heathrow UTC envisages that, while the project may take several years to complete, it will allow a large number of students to take part and develop vital practical and soft skills that will transfer to the workplace.

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Wayne Edwards, principal at Heathrow UTC, said: “There is a great sense of energy and enthusiasm about this project, which has such a broad appeal to our students as they develop their engineering skills.”

Heathrow UTC will be recording the progress and you can follow their story on Twitter @heathrowUTC .

Heathrow UTC will be holding an open evening on Wednesday, February 21, 5.30-7.30pm. You can register for it on http://www.heathrow-utc.org/events/