SANDPOINT — North Idaho students in the Aces Aviation Workshop spent more than two years building a plane that had its first successful flight last summer and, as of last July, the group has been working on their latest project — a 1945 Taylorcraft BC-12D.

“(The Taylorcraft) did over 1,000 hours of flying in Alaska, and it was also involved a rescue of some people that crashed,” said Ken Larson, co-founder of the North Idaho High School Aerospace program. “So it has an incredibly cool history.”

The plane had sat out on the tarmac in Cascade, Idaho, for five to 10 years, said Sandpoint High School senior Ron Korn, who has been working on the plane since it arrived. One day the former owner was warming it up after failing to notice an oil leak. So he started the motor with no oil and “toasted” the engine.

From years of sitting out on the pavement, exposed to the elements, the plane needed a complete makeover. So the Aces team completely stripped it down to a skeleton and began refabricating the entire aircraft, Korn said. They also had to replace the tail section, which Korn did much of the welding and fabrication on.

It used to have 31-inch tires on it, but as they were weather worn as well, Korn said they had to downsize the tires.

“It was really sad, because those were beautiful tires,” Larson said.

Also, since the Taylorcraft didn’t have an engine, a farmer in Nebraska donated one to the program after seeing an advertisement the group had put online.

Korn, along with several other students, has been working on his private pilot's license and is about 15 hours away from the 40 required hours.

“My two major obstacles left are the solo cross countries and the night flight,” Korn said, adding that the night flight is “easy,” because it is only an hour.

Korn originally hoped to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona to study aerospace engineering next year, but to save money he decided to attend the University of Idaho’s engineering program instead.

Lilly Falconer, a recent home-school graduate, has been with the program for more than a year. She is six hours into getting her license and said she “loves” the program. Flying runs in her family, she said, so it’s in her blood.

“I’m working to be a bush pilot in Alaska,” Falconer said. “That’s why I am so excited about this plane, because I will be able to train in it.”

Some students have already received their pilot's license, including Nolon Largen, who has been with the program since 2015. He is a home-school graduate who works for the United States Forest Service in Priest Lake.

“What I want to do is get a commercial license and then become a tanker pilot, dropping fire retardant on fires,” he said.

The NIHSA program is open to all North Idaho students, including those in middle school, high school and home-school.

In addition to the Aces Aviation Workshop, the program also consists of a ground school, which is a class held at Sandpoint High School where students can earn credit to learn to the basic information they need for pilot training. There is also the flight training component, through which the students are learning to fly and earning their pilot licenses.

The group is opening up the hangar to the public on Saturday so the community can see the Taylorcraft and the finished Zenith Zodiac the students built.

In addition to seeing the students' planes, visitors will have the chance to fly the simulator, meet local pilots and learn more about the NIHSA program. Anyone interested in the program, including North Idaho students and parents, are encouraged to attend the open house. Information will be provided on high school aerospace, college programs, Civil Air Patrol, scholarships and flight training.

A meet and greet for students, their parents, EAA members, pilots and aviation business personnel will be held from 9-11 a.m. Saturday. The hangar will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The student hangar is number 1817 at the Sandpoint Airport, 1101 Airport Way. Free hot dogs will be provided.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.