Air Force
Academy gives jet engine to Denver schools
Posted: Sep 14, 2011 10:00 AM by Andy Koen
The United States Air Force Academy has donated a jet engine to the Denver Public Schools for students and instructors to use as they study aircraft maintenance. Denver's West High School and the Emily Griffith Technical College have a partnership program that prepares students for careers in aviation.
The YJ-69-T-9 turbojet engine once flew in a T-37 Tweet, a training aircraft used by the Air Force from the mid-1950s until 2009. It has been cut in half lengthwise and mounted on a rolling stand to give students a tangible model for understanding the inner workings of the engine.
It was donated as part of the Academy's Science Technology Engineering and Math outreach efforts. Col. Brent Richert, the Academy's chief scientist and director of research says the donation is an investment in the future.
"I'm an educator by heart, a physicist by trade and and an Air Force officer by profession, and I can say that our mission at the Air Force Academy is to develop leaders of character," Col. Richert said. "I think we share that responsibility with the Denver Public Schools, as they are looking for leaders for the future with this program."
The jet engine was delivered to the school on Monday.
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