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By Melissa
Mummert, Channel One Online |
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Aviation Academy Students Fly High |
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By Melissa
Mummert, Channel One Online |
| Some days, it can be tough to pay attention in class, but
the students at Wooddale
Aviation Academy in Memphis Tennessee pay close attention to
their instructors because they know that they will eventually apply their
knowledge at 10,000 feet, where the stakes are far higher than just a failing
grade. Wooddale high school students learn how to pilot airplanes in the high school's comprehensive aviation program formed several years ago in conjunction with NASA. The idea behind the Aviation Academy was to create an enriching learning atmosphere to increase students' knowledge of science and math through use of technology and to spark young students' interest in aviation careers. If industry analysts are correct, those students who choose to pursue aviation careers will find the field to be secure and lucrative. Many of today's pilots and other aviation professionals are nearing retirement age, and experts predict a serious shortage of trained workers as early as the year 2000. Some estimate that 80,000 pilots will be needed in the next 10 years, a figure that doesn't include the air traffic controllers, travel agents, mechanics, meteorologists, baggage handlers, and operations staff. To prepare their aviation proteges for their flight into the future, Wooddale instructors take a hands-on learning approach. "We are not trying just to give them books ... and give them a lot of theory. We are actually trying to give them hands-on ability in the different fields or different areas of aviation," says Vernon E. Shaw, an aviation technology instructor at Wooddale. "English, science, math, and technology are all critical parts of Wooddale's curriculum," says Bob Archer, Principal at Wooddale High School, "but even these subjects are centered around the theme of aviation." A student might, for example, do a research paper on the history of flight, study the physics of flight, learn the math to calculate lift all while becoming proficient at running computer simulations software. By learning aviation drafting and other software programs students perfect critical thinking skills which are necessary to compete effectively in the twenty-first century job market. Through this thematic approach to learning, students come to understand that aviation is much more than just knowing how to fly safely and land a plane. "One of the most important concepts for the students to grasp early is the mechanics of flight, Tom Schieffer, the NASA Program Coordinator explains. "In order to understand how the plane they are flying functions, all students first design wings from balsa wood and then they create and develop their own gliders to demonstrate how certain types of designs perform." With weeks of academic preparation under their belts as well as practice with a realistic flight simulator, the students prepare to fly. After a pre-flight check to make sure that everything in their plane is set to go, the students take control of their plane with an instructor sitting beside them as a safety precaution. They obtain permission to taxi, then push the throttle, which controls the speed of the engine. When they hit 75 nautical miles-an-hour, all of their hard work and study is put into practice. As they fly, they know that it's all worth it. After jockeying her plane to a safe landing, 14-year old freshman Audrey Stewart says, "I'm really glad I studied, because if you're just up there not knowing everything ... you're kind of nonchalant to everything ... I'm kind of glad I did study because now I think I put that to use somehow." "Sometimes when I fly," says Hamilton Smith, a 15-year old Wooddale student, "I just want to keep on going and never come down because it is so beautiful and wonderful." |
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