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New aeronautic club blasts off

The Aeronautics Club hit the ground running with sky-high ambitions this semester, setting out to build and launch a model rocket in the next few months.

“Rockets are flashy and cool, so we’re hoping this first rocket project will help us get off the ground, get some attention and get new members,” president Chris Golden said. “The more members we get, the more complex the projects we can undertake.”

Golden, a junior mechanical engineering major, said in addition to building model rockets, the club will build and fly model airplanes and quadcoptors.

“Building model aircrafts takes a lot of time and money, but despite this, I think there’s a lot of people on campus looking for a fun flying community they can be a part of,” Golden said.

Club secretary Frederick Lingner said he joined because of the satisfaction he feels overcoming the technical challenges of flying.

“Flying is sort of a peaceful thing where I get a chance to build something with my own hands and just experiment,” Lingner, a junior mechanical engineering major, said. “The joy comes from putting hours of work into something and see it go up and stay in the air as opposed to just plummeting straight into the dirt.”

Golden said he wants the club to be both recreational and educational.

“We want to go beyond the hobbyist level and look at flying from an engineering point of view,” Golden said. “To this end, we intend to reach out to some mechanical and electrical engineering professors for guidance.”

Despite this engineering focus, Linger said the club is not just for engineering majors.

“We’re looking for anyone interested in planes, helicopters, anything,” Lingner said. “We’re always looking for new thought processes and new people to bring into the club. We’re a friendly and welcoming bunch.”

The organization meets at 1 p.m. Sundays on the second floor of Michel Student Center. For more information, students can email the organization at buaeroclub@gmail.com.

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