LONDONDERRY – Jack Barry is working long hours to get a student project off the ground – literally.

As manager of a student airplane-building program at the Manchester School of Technology, Barry puts in five days a week overseeing a team building a two-seat RV-12iS light sport aircraft.

Although the Bedford resident doesn’t do it for recognition, Barry’s efforts recently netted him an Outstanding Volunteer Service Award from VolunteerNH, a statewide volunteer advocacy organization.

Barry’s award, the top honor in the “Senior” category of age 65 or older, will be presented on Dec. 9 in a virtual event live-streamed from the stage of the Bank of NH auditorium in Concord.

The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and is free to all; info on joining the livestream will be posted on www.volunteernh.org.

Barry, 72, is a long-time volunteer with the Aviation Museum of N.H., a nonprofit historical and educational organization based at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Londonderry.

Two years ago, when the museum embarked on a student plane-building partnership, Barry signed on as volunteer day-to-day build manager. The plane-building project is part of the manufacturing/engineering curriculum at the Manchester School of Technology, a public high school within the Manchester School District.

With more than five decades of experience in aviation and education, Barry was the right person for the job. His career has ranged from crewing helicopters during the Vietnam War to starting the aviation education program at Nashua Community College.

A native of East Derry, Barry is one of a handful of New Hampshire residents to receive the FAA’s Charles H. Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of service as a licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic.

Barry, who also is a licensed FAA inspector, oversees students working on the aircraft. Upon completion and certification, the airplane will be sold on the open market to fund future airplane builds at the Manchester School of Technology, which enrolls students from Manchester as well as Bedford, Goffstown, Londonderry, and other area towns.

Barry also coordinates a team of about two dozen volunteer mentors who are on hand in the workshop to guide students in the assembly process.

Barry typically puts in five days a week managing the plane-building project, which is designed to give students a hands-on experience that takes STEM learning out of the classroom and puts it to use in the workshop.

Even when schools closed for COVID-19 in spring 2020, Barry kept the team of mentors and students engaged. Work restarted in July 2020, and will soon move to dedicated workshop space the school recently built.

“If not for Jack, we really wouldn’t have been able to get this program going the way we have,” said Robert M. Hough, past president of the Aviation Museum’s Board of Directors.

The Spirit of NH Awards is an annual recognition event where nominated individuals and groups are honored for their exemplary volunteerism, and businesses and nonprofit/public service organizations are celebrated for their promotion of volunteer service initiatives.

The Aviation Museum, a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization based in the 1937 art deco passenger terminal at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, is dedicated to preserving the Granite State’s rich aviation past, and also inspiring today’s students to become the aviation pioneers of tomorrow.

The Aviation Museum is located at 27 Navigator Road, off Harvey Road, in Londonderry.

For more information, visit www.aviationmuseumofnh.org or call 603-669-4820. Follow the Aviation Museum on social media at www.facebook.com/nhahs.

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