Kaman Helicopter Lands at Renbrook School for Annual Flight Day
May 3, 2019
Neal Keating, former Renbrook parent and trustee, and Chairman, President, and CEO of Kaman Corporation, arranged for their helicopter, called the H-43 Yellow Bird, to come to the campus of Renbrook School for Flight Day! Yellow Bird was piloted by Bill Hart, Chief Pilot Kaman Aerspace and Greg Lachenmayer, Pilot. Tim Madore, who is also a Renbrook alum and is a Design Automation Engineer also joined in on the day. The event, which began in 2010, includes aviation workshops and flight-centered experiential learning activities. Throughout the day, students also enjoyed the up-close experience of exploring the cockpit and structure of the Yellow Bird helicopter.
Workshops will include presentations by Pratt & Whitney’s Ken Benson, Retired Flight Test Manager, Max Greenhunt-Snyder, Senior Associate, Program Support & Marketing Communications, Military Engines and Jack Swift, Deputy Director Domestic Business Development, Military Engines will speak to students about piloting and the structural engineering behind various aircraft.
With help from members of the Simsbury Radio Control Club, students will explore lift, thrust, weight, and drag while working with remote-controlled planes and flight simulators in another workshop.
Renbrook’s long association with aviation dates back to 1957, when the estate of Faye B. Rentschler and Frederick B. Rentschler, co-founder of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, became the campus of Renbrook School. The school’s Globe Foyer is an exhibition that features the connection between Rentschler, Pratt & Whitney, flight, and Renbrook School. A Pratt & Whitney WASP engine, donated to the school by George David, former chairman and CEO of United Technologies, is the central focus of the exhibit.
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