Aeronautical class in Alsace: start of the school year for the ISAS class

Federation news27 October 20232 min read

A new school year for the ISAS class at the Jean-Jacques Henner lycée

Teams come and go but institutions remain; Mme Marie-Chritine Bosswingel, head of the Jean Jacques Henner lycée, has taken a well-deserved retirement and handed over to M. Patrice Schelcher, who immediately took to heart the task of continuing the ISAS section so masterfully set up by his predecessor in the 2022-2023 school year.

A school year rich in successes and discoveries ended in early July 2023 with the presentation of the BIA diplomas at the traditional end-of-year meal at Aviatik CAP Alsace. On the menu for the festivities: a giant paella and raffles with many introductory flights as prizes, in a Savannah S and a Piper PA28, which took place that same evening; a guaranteed show for the many families of the graduates, but also of the new pupils of this Introduction to Aeronautical and Space Sciences section, who came in numbers to discover the aero club and talk to the former pupils. They also learned that two of our graduates, selected on application, were spending their last days in Alsace before joining the Air and Space Force Technical Training School (EETAE 722) in Saintes in August.

And an ISAS seconde class (age 15-16) of 31 pupils started in September, determined to take in the three extra hours a week of mathematics (Mme Miolin) and physics (M. Martin), and the two hours of BIA a week. Their strong motivation was confirmed by their enthusiasm in coming back, after a long week, on a Saturday afternoon to follow a lesson on the club's aircraft and the VAC chart. A real treasure hunt that kept them on the edge of their seats for two hours, among the airframe components, the engine, the cockpit instruments and the little quiz on the VAC chart. At the sight of the club's aircraft, a chemistry quickly developed and some pupils were soon seized by an irresistible urge to go up. And just the next day, two of our pupils were able to study aircraft in action, flying over the Sundgau and their lycée in the club's Savannah S. An experience their beaming faces convey better than any description; although one pupil's very apt words seem to me to capture the magical feeling of flight: "It's hypnotic".