Fed Ex will deliver a Boeing 727 to St. Paul Downtown Airport

Summary notes from the Metropolitan Airport Commission meeting on July 15, 2013
By
Vivian Starr, July 17,2013

At the Full Commission meeting, Hamilton Bell of the Farnsworth Aerospace PreK-8 Magnet School/Johnson High School in East St. Paul announced that Fed Ex will deliver a Boeing 727 to St. Paul Downtown Airport on Tuesday, July 30, at 10 AM. This plane is being donated by Fed Ex and will be converted to a “Learning Jet.”  After conversion, the plane will contain a series of classrooms and a number of flight simulators.

Farnsworth Aerospace has two school buildings south of Lake Phalen, PreK through 4^th grade is in one building and 5^th through 8^th grade in another. The nearby Johnson High School continues the Aerospace learning experience through 12^th grade.

These are STEM schools having a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The big plus at Farnsworth is that they have added another letter to create a STEAM program—Science, Technology, Engineering, Aerospace, and Math. The motivation of having Aerospace woven through all of the subjects being taught really inspires young people.

The Learning Jet will be another campus where students can have classes in a real jet aircraft amid the action of a real tower-controlled airport. The jet will be parked near Signature Aviation’s building nearest the river.

For more information on Farnsworth, please visit their website: http://farnsworth.spps.org/

Another topic of interest to Reliever tenants was a discussion of the MSP Airport Watch Program. MAC is working to establish a similar volunteer watch program at the Anoka County Blaine Airport.