SANDPOINT — Local aerospace professionals are providing a fabulous opportunity for area students interested in airplanes and flight. Ken Larson and Barney Ballard have watched their fledgling project, the North Idaho High School Aerospace Program, take wing over the past few years, and for the students involved, the sky is the limit.

Ken Larson, a retired pilot with 40 years of experience and a Gold Seal-rated flight instructor, first thought of the idea for the program when someone donated an old airplane to the Forrest M. Bird Charter School. The school did not have the space for the project plane, but Sandpoint High School had space in its shop area, according to the NIHSAP website.

Larson and Ballard, a former Air Force jet pilot, moved the plane to SHS and established the ACES Club, where students learn to read blueprints and plans, find out how airplane engines work and acquire the skills they need to help rebuild the aircraft. FAA certified aviation mechanics and local aerospace professionals, including technicians from Quest Aircraft, volunteer their guidance, know-how and mentorship, according to an NIHSAP brochure.

Larson teaches two academic courses at SHS, Career Pathways in Aviation and Pilot Ground School. Students have opportunities to hear expert speakers from the aerospace industry and go on field trips to such destinations as North Idaho Aerospace Center for Excellence at North Idaho College.

Ballard and his wife, Carol, have established three scholarship opportunities at NIC. The curriculum in the ground school class includes aerodynamics, weather, FAA regulations, navigation and other need-to-know materials, according to the brochure.

Larson has also allied with Idaho's PTECH Network, enabling students to earn college credit toward aerospace careers. Additionally, NIHSAP offers flight training at reduced rates at Forrest M. Bird airport and facilitates student employment with local aviation firms to help offset training expenses.

NIHSAP and the ACES need $10,000 to get the Zodiac airplane flight-ready. It is 80 percent complete, according to Mary Fraser, volunteer and parent of a student in the flight program.

"On May 5, we're joining Idaho Gives to raise funds," she said. 

"NIHSAP provides career guidance and tutelage that guides kids toward opportunities they might not otherwise have had," Larson said. "They have a very authentic aviation experience."

Supporters can donate online at idahogives.org or idahogives.razoo.com/us/story/North-Idaho-High-School-Aerospace-Program.