{"id":33866,"date":"2026-01-19T01:43:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T01:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=33866"},"modified":"2026-01-19T01:44:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T01:44:47","slug":"enid-high-school-aviation-program-reaches-new-heights-with-inaugural-flight-of-student-built-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/oklahoma\/enid-high-school-aviation-program-reaches-new-heights-with-inaugural-flight-of-student-built-aircraft\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Enid High School Aviation Program Reaches New Heights with Inaugural Flight of Student-Built Aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Several Garfield County community members were on hand to see Enid High School\u2019s aviation students\u2019 hard work take to the skies Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026 at Woodring Regional Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enid celebrated the inaugural flight of its student-built RV-12iS Light Sport Aircraft as part of the Tango Flight (TFI) aircraft construction program.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"511\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Enid-HS-edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33867\" style=\"width:452px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Enid-HS-edit.jpg 511w, https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Enid-HS-edit-300x132.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Enid High School celebrated the inaugural flight of its student-built RV-12iS Light Sport Aircraft on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026 at Woodring Regional Airport. The plane is part of the Tango Flight (TFI) aircraft construction program.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The program utilizes the curriculum provided by TFI, an educational non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring the next generation of engineers, pilots, aviation mechanics and technicians. TFI\u2019s curriculum blends classroom learning with hands-on training where students apply their knowledge to building a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified airplane. Since 2016, TFI has worked with educators and aviation experts nationwide to construct this innovative STEM-focused educational program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are so excited by the completion of the first Tango Flight \u2018airplane build project\u2019 at Enid High School,\u201d said Dan Weyant, Tango Flight Inc. executive director. \u201cThe students did an outstanding job on this airplane. Their hard work and attention to detail have resulted in a high-quality aircraft\u2026 one of the best built RV-12iS (planes) in the country!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enid\u2019s program was developed with crucial assistance from a grant offered through the <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/aerospace\/aero-education.html\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/aerospace\/aero-education.html\">Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics<\/a> (ODAA), demonstrating Oklahoma\u2019s commitment to STEM education and workforce development in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe ODAA is proud to support the development of Enid\u2019s aviation education program,\u201d said Grayson Ardies, executive director of the ODAA. \u201cThis partnership with Tango Flight reflects Oklahoma\u2019s commitment to delivering premier hands-on STEM education to ensure we have a robust, homegrown workforce for the state\u2019s thriving aerospace and aviation industries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other Oklahoma high schools that are currently participating in the Tango Flight program include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Durant High School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>McAlester High School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oklahoma Aviation Academy (Norman Public Schools)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pryor High School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sequoyah High School (Tahlequah)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Northeast Technology Center (Afton)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>McAlester, Northeast Tech (Afton), Pryor and Oklahoma Aviation Academy are expected to finish their aircraft during the spring 2026 school semester.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several Garfield County community members were on hand to see Enid High School\u2019s aviation students\u2019 hard work take to the skies Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026 at Woodring Regional Airport. Enid celebrated the inaugural flight of its student-built RV-12iS Light Sport Aircraft as part of the Tango Flight (TFI) aircraft construction program. The program utilizes the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-education","category-oklahoma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33866"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33870,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33866\/revisions\/33870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}