MODEL STUDENTS MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASS RE-CREATES MISSING LANDER.

QUARTZ HILL - For years, a model of an odd NASA aircraft first flown by test pilot Joe Walker sat in the trophy case at Walker's namesake school.

But the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle model, given to Walker by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and donated to the school by Walker's widow in 1972, disappeared from its wooden base a number of years ago, so students in technology lab teacher Matt Anderson's class decided to build one to replace it.

``It was very interesting. It helped me learn about team effort and coming together to build something from scratch,'' said eighth-grader Austin Enzen, 14. ``We had photocopies of blueprints, and that was all we had to go with.''

Thirty-five sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in Anderson's class worked on the project last school year and were helped by technicians and engineers who designed and built the LLRV, which Walker piloted on its maiden flight Oct. 30, 1964.

The LLRV was later flown by astronaut Neil Armstrong, who practiced with it for his historic 1979 landing on the moon.

In recognition of the students' work, a nonprofit aerospace and aviation organization, PAT Projects, donated a tiled mural valued at $50,000 that contains computer-generated images of the students working on their project, Walker and Armstrong and their signatures, and Norman Rockwell's depiction of the 1969 moon landing.

Walker died in a 1966 midair collision between his F-104 and an XB-70 Valkyrie during a publicity photo session near Edwards Air Force Base. He flew the X-15 rocket plane more than any other pilot and set height and speed records with it.

The 6-foot-by-9-foot mural was unveiled Saturday at Joe Walker Middle School's library, in conjunction with the city of Lancaster's Aerospace Walk of Honor celebration.

Anderson, who did a book report on Walker when he was a middle school student in Montana, had the model's wooden base and plaque sitting on his desk, prompting inquiries from students and then calls to NASA.

Through NASA, the students hooked up with Wayne Ottinger, president of PAT Projects and the project engineer for the LLRV, who provided the students with photographs and renderings of the vehicle.

``We furnished the school with photos and drawings and visited the classroom and talked with students. Then we had some former crew work with the kids and answer questions,'' said Ottinger, 67.

Students were divided up into eight teams that would build eight models. Dave Stoddard, who worked on the rocket propellant servicing crew and is now in his 70s, prepared model kits for the students to use.

``Dave Stoddard came to the class. He told us the history of the lunar project. It was built to scale. The kids had to read original 1963 blueprints of the lunar vehicle,'' Anderson said.

Stoddard and two former project crew chiefs, Ray White and Bill Wilson, served as judges and selected the winning model.

Lancaster-based PAT Projects, which stands for Preservation of Aerospace Technology, was formed in 1994 and works to promote math and science education.

Ottinger promised the students a mural commemorating their project if they came up with a good slogan about learning math and science.

The students came through on their end with a variation of Armstrong's famous utterance. It was, ``Learn math and science: One small step for schools across the nation, one giant leap for our future.''

Ottinger had the students photographed and videotaped every other week for several months, and those images were used for the mural.

Ottinger had Armstrong's signature from an educational poster he had signed. Walker's was on a picture he had given to Ottinger. Ottinger said he secured permission from Rockwell's estate to use the painting.

``It's a daily reminder to kids to inspire them,'' Ottinger said.

Every student who worked on the project was given a 12-inch-by-16-inch canvas replica of the mural to take home.

``The biggest thing was kids learning who the school is named after. A lot of kids didn't know. He was a great man who did a lot for the community,'' Anderson said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in AV edition only) Instructor Matt Anderson and student Austin Enzen display their model of the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

(2) Joe Walker Middle School students learned about test pilot Joe Walker during the model reconstruction project.

NASA