June 25, 2026
Most high schoolers spend their senior year thinking about prom, finals, and what comes next. The students in Bassick High School’s Tango Flight program spent their time building airplanes. Yes, airplanes, the kind that has a pilot and flies, and when the aircraft arrived at Three Wing Aviation this week, the students and staff realised the milestone that makes it all feel real.
After months of careful work, reading blueprints, fastening rivets, wiring systems, and learning the kind of hands-on skills most people never get near, the students arrived at Three Wing to do something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives: they put the wings on their plane. Then they fired up the engine for its first test run and listened to it roar to life.
Picture it. A group of teenagers standing around an aircraft they built with their own hands, watching the propeller spin, hearing that engine catch and hold. That sound isn’t just an engine. It’s proof. Proof that they did it. Proof that every hour they put in actually added up to something that can leave the ground.
But the story isn’t over yet — in fact, the best part is still ahead.
Next, the FAA will inspect the aircraft to certify that it’s airworthy and safe to fly. It’s a rigorous process, and for good reason: this plane has to meet the same standards as any other aircraft in the sky. The students built it to those standards. Now comes the official stamp of approval.
And then? The moment everything has been leading toward. Once the plane is certified, these students will get to fly in the very aircraft they built. Not a simulator. Not a model. The real thing, wings, engine, and all — lifting off the runway with their work carrying it into the air.
Think about what that does for a young person. To know that you helped build something capable of flight. That kind of confidence doesn’t fade. It follows you into whatever you choose to do next, whether that’s aviation, engineering, the trades, or a path no one’s even mapped out yet.
Programs like Tango Flight don’t just teach kids how to build airplanes. They teach them what they’re capable of. Here at Three Wing Aviation and Three Wing Flight School, we’re honored to host the aircraft and help it get airborne. We strongly believe in exposing youth to the world of aviation and all the possibilities a student can have to choose from.
To the students of Bassick High School: you built a plane. Soon, you’ll fly it. We couldn’t be prouder.
Stay tuned, we’ll be sharing updates as the FAA certification moves forward and that first flight gets closer. You’re not going to want to miss it.
