📋 Tender Overview
Building an aircraft as part of aircraft mechanic training: this is the ambition of an innovative educational project carried out by the Private Lycee Emile Metz (LPEM). The project involves the students of this training in all stages of building a motorized ultralight aircraft, from assembly to commissioning. The project was officially launched on May 6, 2026 in an airport hangar at Findel in the presence of the Minister of National Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch. Gallery 1 Claude Meisch, Minister of National Education, Children and Youth (c) MENJE Claude Meisch, Minister of National Education, Children and Youth (c) MENJE Claude Meisch, Minister of National Education, Children and Youth (c) MENJE Illustration (c) MENJE Interdisciplinary learning in a real situation Since 1979/80, the LPEM offers aircraft mechanic training. It now extends over two years (2nd and 1st classes) and delivers an international license complying with European standards, as well as a technician diploma. The new educational project constitutes a powerful lever for interdisciplinary learning within the framework of this training. By building the plane, students use skills in mechanics, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, IT, project management, workplace safety and teamwork. Thus empowered, they put their skills at the service of a real, complex and demanding project, where each decision has direct consequences on the safety, performance and compliance of the device. A long-term project The project will be deployed over four to five years and will involve both the 2nd and 1st classes of aircraft mechanic training. It provides for the construction and assembly of the fuselage between 2026 and 2028, the installation of the avionics from 2026 to 2029, as well as the integration of the engine and the test phases between 2027 and 2029. In this 2025/2026 school year, 19 apprentice aircraft mechanic students from the 2nd class are participating in the project according to a rotation system. Every Thursday morning, four students work on the aircraft for four teaching units. In the afternoon, four other students take over for an equivalent duration. The following week, work is carried out by four other students in the morning, as well as by four other students in the afternoon. The students are supervised by two teachers who provide both teaching and supervision of the work. The construction process is closely monitored and controlled by the Civil Aviation Directorate (DAC) of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works. Once the plane is completed, it will eventually be sold, and the funds will be reinvested in a new kit in order to relaunch the project with new students. The aircraft chosen by the high school is a Nando Groppo Trail, a two-seater tandem plane with a metal structure, equipped with folding wings. It measures 6.3 meters long with a wingspan of 8.5 meters. Its maximum take-off weight is 600 kg. Its cruising speed is 170 km/h. A lever to promote professional training Thanks to its unique character, the project will also contribute to strengthening the attractiveness of professional training and to creating vocations for the profession of aircraft mechanics. It will strengthen the link between high school and industry by bringing students closer to the professional world and facilitating their future integration through concrete practical experience. It will thus contribute to training better prepared and more autonomous aircraft mechanics, while improving the image and recognition of professional training.
