Just when everyone had gotten used to having a fuselage anchored in concrete on the grounds, the wings and tailfin arrived. The plane is the first Short 360 commuter aircraft with high aspect ratio (long!) wings, and it took a team of workers with heavy machinery to put it all back together.

It took a couple of weeks to complete assembly, and the children were fascinated just to have "a plane of their own," let alone witness construction on such a massive scale. The seemingly unreal idea of a plane at the school had become a reality. Many of our awed onlookers didn't realise it would be so big, despite having known the dimensions for weeks, and the whole event was a surprise and delight for children and staff alike.

Now that the plane was back together, it was time to develop the space around it. More groundworks began, with tarmac, turf, paving and fences making the whole area safe and accessible. Ramps were incorporated, both for wheelchair users and buggies; after all, the result of this project is for the whole community. Inspired by their visit to Manchester Airport, the children had chosen to have the surrounding environment designed like a runway, surrounded with a blue fence to match our project's signature colours.

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