By Mike Hazlip

Students from a Vacaville charter school are working to restore a U. S. Air Force flight simulator formerly used at Travis AFB.

Student Diego Rodriguez of Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy in Vacaville said the work is part of a Senior Service Learning Project that he is working on with other students. The completed simulator is planned to be on display at the Rowland Freedom Center at the Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville, Rodriguez said.

“It feels incredible,” Rodriguez said of working on the project for the museum. “These guys are the heroes. It’s amazing to be honoring them and preserving history, showing the next generation what we can live up to be.”

Fellow student James Castillo said that community projects are a graduation requirement for Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy students. He plans to use the knowledge he gains from the project as he pursues a career as an electrician after high school.

One of only two KC-10 flight simulators from Travis AFB, Rodriguez says the other simulator went to the U.S. Navy when the Air Force transitioned to the KC-46 Pegasus. Tackling the project is giving students like Rodriguez some much needed hands-on experience, he says.

“It’s a great experience working here,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t get a lot of that taught to us in schools any more, so it’s great education for the real world.” 

The project is student-run with some direction from mentor Chris Williams, Rodriguez said. The team plans to add two female mannequins to the cockpit to symbolize the contributions that women have made to aviation history.

After high school, Rodriguez said he plans to apply to the Air Force Academy to be a pilot.