High school students soar in aviation program

Ravens at Sussex Technical High School are being given the opportunity to “fly” from the nest with the offering of a Private Pilot Ground course. The program is open to juniors and seniors, who upon completion receive three hours of college credit and one high school elective credit.

The class is conducted by Delaware State University through the Early Bird Program which offers courses at Del State at no tuition cost to high school students with at least a 3.0 grade point average. Upon successful completion of the ground course, students not only receive one high school elective credit, but they also receive three hours of college credit which is the same requirement for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground certification. Students have then gone one-third of the way toward obtaining their private pilot’s license.

“This class can help the kids realize that being a pilot is an obtainable goal. It may even open up a whole new world for them,” says flight instructor Robert Young, assistant director of Delaware State’s Aviation Program. Young describes the class as a challenging program that requires 40 hours of classroom instruction and three hours of flying time. In order to receive FAA certification, students must pass a written ground test, a practical air test and an oral exam with a designated FAA examiner, and then an aerial test. As students can receive FAA certification at 17 years old, the high school course gives teenagers the opportunity to understand aviation.

The yearlong class at Sussex Tech meets once a week for an hour before school every Wednesday morning. Students use a lot of their math and science skills in their lessons. The intense curriculum includes the rules of aviation, sectional (map) reading, weather, physics, gravity, and calculating weight and balance.

“Students must keep up with their studies,” says Young. “But these are volunteer students who are eager to learn.”

Junior Rachel Crum of Laurel has some private pilots in her family and would like to be able to become a certified pilot herself in the future.

“Getting up an hour earlier can sometimes be difficult to get myself going,” admits Rachel, “but I’ve been to every class. Plus, I took some college classes last summer, so I knew what to expect in them.”

The highlight of the course came one Saturday morning last fall when Del State flew five of its 10 instructional planes from their home base at the Cheswold Airport down to the Georgetown Airport so that students from Sussex Tech and Cape Henlopen high schools could do their required three hours of flying time. The experience was very exciting for 17-year-old James Smith of Seaford, who is considering becoming a commercial pilot.

“We flew down the coastline to Ocean City and back to Georgetown,” says Smith. “The cockpit was similar to a driver’s ed car with two sets of controls so the student could fly the plane, but also so the instructor could take over in an instant if necessary.”

This is the first year Delaware State has gone into high schools to offer the aviation class to teenagers. Besides Sussex Tech, classes are also held at Cape Henlopen High School and Lake Forest High School. There are seven students taking the class at Sussex Tech. Students must pay for their books and equipment and the university’s registration fee. However, the expense is only one-third of the cost if the class were to be taken through the regular university offerings.

“It is Del State’s goal to have the class offered in at least three high schools in each county,” said Young.

“Sussex Tech is happy to be able to offer this opportunity to our students,” says Dr. Kevin Dickerson, director of support services for the Sussex Technical School District. “With the cooperation of Delaware State, students can earn ground private pilot certification and dual education credits. Plus, the class can be offered without disrupting the high school’s regular day schedule.”