ORU Future Engineers Construct Plane On Campus

Some students at Oral Roberts University are building an airplane inside the engineering lab on campus.

"It was donated to us by Aerocom in Florida. It was partially built," said Dr. Dominic Halsmer, ORU Engineering Professor. 

Halsmer said the plane project is as much a training aid to teach about working with composite materials as it is building an airplane.

"This is about the process more than it is the end product," he said. 

Except those working on it, they want to finish it.

Of course, but the end is probably four or five years away. These three guys will have to come back to see it done.

Nicholas Nation from California, Somto Ekwempu, from Nigeria, and Solomon Tsuma from Kenya.

Three future engineers demonstrated the process they use with fiberglass and epoxy to create a lightweight yet strong bonding material in the fuselage of this someday airplane.

Toward the end of the project when they want to put all the pieces together they'll need more room.

"Once the wings are on it's not leaving this place," Nation said. 

So a hanger somewhere and someday maybe a reunion of all the engineering students who had a hand in the project.

When it's finished, they plan to donate the plane to a missionary organization.