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Hallam Secondary College tour of Jetstar and Air Ambulance Victoria



At any given moment in time, there are thousands of civilian aircraft in the air around the world carrying over one million passengers. With the cost of air travel becoming more affordable than ever before, it is estimated that the global aerospace industry will double in size over the next 20 years which includes piloting, maintenance engineering, manufacturing, catering and logistics, just to name a few. So, what better way to encourage students to consider an exciting career in this industry than to have an up-close hands on interaction with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

On Monday 23rd October, Hallam Senior College Physics students were given a very unique and amazing opportunity to visit Jetstar Maintenance at Melbourne Airport to explore a Boeing Dreamliner from the landing gear to the captain’s seat. Aircraft engineers did a brilliant job making students' classroom learning about Bernoulli and Newtonian Lift, jet engines, flight controls and many other aspects of aerospace studies very real.

What made this field trip even more special was something that happened when we reported to the security gate at Jetstar. A young man approached me, shook my hand and greeted me with 'Hello Mr Z. Do you remember me? I was in your Yr 11 Physics class in 2010'. Although he looked familiar, I didn't recognise him at first until I put a name to his face which was clearly printed on his Jetstar employee security tag. This young man was one of our students who had only been in the country for only a couple of years prior to 2010 and was so inspired on the same excursion he attended in 2010 that he had decided to pursue aerospace engineering as a career. He completed Year 12 at Hallam Senior College in 2011, succeeded in getting into Aerospace Engineering at University despite a significant language barrier and now has a brilliant career as an Aerospace Engineer at Jetstar. It's incredible how one excursion can have such a defining moment in the life of a student.

Students also visited Air Ambulance Victoria in the afternoon where they had the opportunity to inspect their HEMS helicopter and to investigate the principles of flight relating to rotary wing aircraft.

We extend our sincere gratitude and thanks to the wonderful people at Jetstar, Air Ambulance Victoria and Aviation Aerospace Australia for their continued support and making this field trip possible for us each year.

Rob Zreczycki
Physics Teacher
Hallam Senior Secondary College