It’s not every day you see an airplane on the back of a flatbed tow truck driving down South Willow Street. What’s even more unique is that the plane was built by Manchester School of Technology (MST) students participating in the aviation program in the Career and Technical Education Center (CTE).
The plane is a two-seater RV-12iS light sport aircraft, which was shipped to the school in pieces by Van’s Aviation. From there, the kit is handed over to the aviation manufacturing class for assembly. It’s the second of its kind built by CTE students in Manchester, and one of only three programs in the state of New Hampshire. For some students, it’s the reason they chose MST.
“I wanted to go here due to the aviation program, I’ve been interested in it for a while,” says junior Nathan Cleaver. “The teachers and mentors are great, the program in general is amazing, there’s a lot to learn and a lot to do.”
The program is done in partnership with the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire and Tango Flight, an educational nonprofit that facilitates student aircraft projects around the country. The classes are led by instructor Jeff Sullivan, who came to MST after a career with Delta Airlines.
The first plane built by MST students was completed in 2022. Sullivan, who worked as a mentor on the first plane, says they learned a lot of lessons from the first build. Those lessons, he says, have contributed to the success of this latest aircraft. “The plane’s going to tell us when it’s ready. We’re not going to rush anything, this is the real deal, we’re going to do things right.”
Sullivan is far from the only adult helping with the project. A team of volunteer mentors also dedicate time each week to working with the aviation students. While some have backgrounds in aviation, including former Lockheed and Boeing engineers and commercial pilots, others just appreciate the value of the program and are learning right alongside the students, including Lianne Deranian. “I’ve always liked working with kids, my husband and I are both engineers so we have a problem solving background, we’re both retired now and wanted to do something that made a difference.”
Aside from helping build the plane, mentors play a key role in helping students prepare for professional life after high school, including everything from resume help to something as simple as learning how to speak with and interact with adults.
“These guys could be doing anything at 8:00 in the morning or 12:40 in the afternoon, but many of them are here three times a week. It’s a commitment,” says assistant principal and CTE director Vaso Partinoudi. “There’s no way this plane would be building itself without each and every one of them.”
“We’ve been blessed,” says Sullivan.
The plane will now have the wings and other final pieces attached in a hanger at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport before undergoing FAA testing and certification. From there, it will be sold on the open market for anywhere from $130,000-$140,000, with proceeds used to support the program and pay for future plane builds. Sullivan says there is a waiting list of people looking to purchase these student-built aircraft, which reach a top speed of 144 MPH and can run on the same gasoline used in cars.
In all, close to 50 students have contributed to the plane build over the last three years.
“It means a lot to the students, they love it, they love the fact that they’re building something that’s an FAA certified aircraft. They take ownership in it. He or she sees this plane and says ‘you know what? I did that!”
There is no rest for the program, work on plane number three is already underway.
The aviation program at MST is free and open to local high school students. Those selected for the CTE program can come from both inside or outside the Manchester School District, including homeschoolers. Applications for the 2026-27 school year are being accepted now and can be found here.
