East Manatee students soar at science fair

EAST MANATEE — Cristos G. Nikitopoulos , a student at Haile Middle School, and Jack W. Bailey, a student at Lakewood Ranch High School, were honored by the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter of the Air Force Association for their Aeronautical and Space themed projects presented at the Lockheed Martin Manatee Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Christos’ project  “Shifting Shapes” investigated how different wing shapes affected the distance a glider could travel.  Jack pursued a similar tack, investigating how different shaped nose cones fitted on model rockets would affect the altitude to which they could fly.

Chapter President Mike Richardson presented each winner with an AFA Certificate of Achievement and Achievement Medal, an Atlas of Space Exploration published by the Smithsonian Institute, and a variety of Air Force promotional items provided by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Manatee County Air Force recruiters.

Additionally, on behalf of the U.S. Air Force, the chapter recognized two honorable mention winners: Haley Weltzen of Haile Middle School and Stephen Lindsay of Braden River High School  for their projects.  They each received an Air Force Certificate of Achievement an assortment of Air Force items.