Being part of the Aeronautics team at Creekview High in Cherokee County is a bit like living that scene in “Apollo 13” when the head of mission control tells the engineers to solve a major problem and “failure is not an option.”
That’s the fun part for sophomore Johnny Schaly.
“My favorite thing is the problem solving,” said the 15-year-old from Ball Ground. “We’re given a task and only a couple requirements, and we have to create an outline of how it will work and how we’ll execute it.”
Schaly and his 39 teammates have taken on the American Rocketry Challenge, an extracurricular, academic competition managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It’s designed to give middle and high school students a sense of what the engineering design process is like.
The Creekview team was recently selected as one of 46 in the country to advance toward the competition’s final round. If past history is any indication, members stand a good chance of taking first place: They were the 2018 International Champions and have consistently ranked in the top 20 among challengers in the U.S. In 2014 and 2018, they finished first.
Last year, they built a rocket with an autonomous glider that flew from the rocket to a specific GPS location.
“This year, we’re delivering a rover to the ground that will probe the soil for water and transmit data to the ground station,” said science teacher Tim Smyrl who oversees the team.
The students work for months on various stages of the project. It begins with a 60-page proposal and preliminary designs, followed by more detailed specs and a construction schedule. Finalized designs and a flight readiness review will come early in 2021.
“The rockets are made out of fiberglass and have two parachutes so they can be recovered with hopefully no damage,” said Schaly."We spend one day doing tests to make sure our systems are ready and everything works."
The project involves a serious commitment of several out-of-class hours each week, said Smyrl.
“There are no requirements to join, but there is a lot of time management involved,” he said. “Students meet on Monday and Friday after school, and Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They also pay $50 in dues toward the team’s budget to purchase materials.”
The commitment is like having a job, said junior Michael Peña. “But I like the design and construction process, and using my hands to build that giant rocket. Seeing it fly is really amazing.”
For Schaly, being on the team goes beyond the chance to win a competition.
“I’m hoping I can make a career out of this,” he said. “I can see myself doing this work. It’s my passion.”
Information about Creekview High is online at cherokeek12.net/creekviewhs.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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