At Midway High School, a group of ambitious students have taken education to new heights — literally. Through the district’s innovative Tango Flight program, students are building an actual airplane from the ground up.
“It’s so rewarding. It’s crazy to think that at the start of the year we had just boxes and crates filled with metal and rivets to now fully fledged parts of a plane,” Midway senior Honey Witherspoon said.
The Tango Flight program, only the second of its kind in the Waco area, puts students in charge of constructing a real, flyable aircraft with the guidance of mentors and teacher Brady Gibson.
“The very first thing we had to do — we had to inventory all of the parts, so we made a spreadsheet that had just all the part numbers and their names,” Midway senior Ragen Barker said.
“Then we moved into some of the bigger stuff,” Midway senior Adam Engeling said. “My group did the vertical stabilizer, so the tail of the plane. That was the first big thing we did — and it took probably about two to three weeks.”
As the year progressed, the team’s skills and confidence grew. “Being able to actually apply it, it’s super exciting,” Witherspoon said. “Like having the one wing completely finished and the other one being close to being finished — about a week left on it — and knowing that everything’s going to connect at the end. It’s super cool to see.”
But Tango Flight has offered more than just technical experience — it’s also been a launchpad for personal growth and career inspiration.
“With the leadership, I’ve learned how to just conduct all these different people with different skill sets, and how to get the job done quickly and efficiently,” Barker said. “You just got to do your best every time.”
“Honestly, it kind of made me want to go into the aircraft field,” Engeling said. “Before that, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. So it’s kind of given me something that I’d be interested in.”
The program emphasizes teamwork and communication, lessons that go far beyond the workshop.
“This one’s mainly just about collaboration, because you learn how to work with other people, which is a very important thing for later on in your life,” Barker said. “Learning how to work with people and work efficiently to the best of your ability every single time.”
All three students credit the success of the project to the support and expertise of their mentors and program leader, Mr. Gibson.
With the wings nearly finished and the body of the aircraft taking shape, these Midway High School students are proving that with the right tools — and plenty of teamwork — the sky isn’t the limit, it’s just the beginning.
The Tango Flight program is in its first year and was made possible by generous donations from the Midway Education Foundation, along with several community partners: Blackhawk Aerospace, TSTC Foundation, Baylor Aviation Sciences, and Haggard & Stocking.
