At Farnsworth Magnet School, Learning Takes Flight in Donated Jet

July 29, 2013
The jet will be donated to the Minnesota Association of Women in Aviation. Through a $100,000 federal grant, the Learning Jet classroom will be made available for other schools as well.

July 29--FedEx is donating a 20-year-old cargo jet to serve as a classroom in St. Paul.

The 153-foot-long Boeing 727-200F named Timothy will permanantly cool its jets at the St. Paul Downtown Airport's Holman Field. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the airport after the plane lands.

Previously used to deliver FedEx packages nationwide, the aircraft will soon be used as a stationary classroom for aviation students at St. Paul's Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet School.

"Instead of scrapping or selling these jets, we decided to donate them to help the next generation of pilots and aircraft technicians," said Jim McCluskey, FedEx spokesman.

The jet will be donated to the Minnesota Association of Women in Aviation. Through a $100,000 federal grant, the Learning Jet classroom will be made available for other schools as well.

"I think it's important to students all over Minnesota because groups can use the space for real-world experience," said Jill Wall, program manager at Farnsworth Aerospace.

The jet is the first to be donated to a school, said Toya Stewart Downey, spokeswoman for St. Paul Public Schools.

The jet's classroom renovations will be finished in the fall.

The school is planning to use the space for courses in science, technology, engineering and math.

Within that curriculum, students will learn about transportation in aviation, railroads, highways and waterways.

The engine on the jet will be removed, but school officials are considering including the parts in the curriculum.

The inside will have rows of desks on either side of the aircraft. In the back will be four simulator stations where students can learn to drive vehicles, fly aircraft and command boats.

At a summer school class at Farnsworth this past week, students expressed their excitement about future courses inside the plane.

Katherine Grimm, 12, said she wants to learn to conduct a train, while Pa Der Thao, 15, prefers boats.

Pa Der Thao said she wants to see it and tell her younger brother, who wants to become an astronaut, about the aircraft.

"I think it will be really amazing, and students that are interested should go see the classroom," said Pa Der Thao, a freshman at Johnson Aerospace Engineering High School.

Though it's the first aircraft to be donated to students below the college level, the St. Paul jet will be FedEx's 77th donated Boeing 727 since 2000.

At one point, FedEx was the largest operator of Boeing 727s worldwide, with a peak of 170 of them in its fleet.

"The 727 was one of the backbones of FedEx," McCluskey said.

FedEx is now replacing the older models with the 757, 767 and 777.

Newer aircraft are more reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, McCluskey said.

He said that with the newer planes, the hope is to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

Marcella Corona can be reached at 651-228-5556. Follow her at twitter.com/Marcella_Anahi.

Copyright 2013 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.