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Aviation
Science Program Coordinator Doug Jones, right, coaches Jonathan
Basham, an aviation science major from Athens, on approaches
in the flight simulator at Columbia-Greene Community College.
The simulator was provided to the college courtesy of Richmor
Aviation. |
By
Kate Kirschenheiter
with
Photograph by Alan Kovler at Columbia-Greene Community College
for
Hudson Valley Newspapers
COLUMBIA
COUNTY -- Local residents who have dreamed of a pilot's career need
look no further than their own back yard to make that dream come
true.
A cooperative
program between Questar III, Columbia-Greene Community College and
Richmor Aviation at the Columbia County Airport has made a pilot's
career possible for local youngsters and adults.
"It
starts in high school at Questar III, then goes to Columbia-Greene
Community College and then on to a 4-year college such as SUNY Farmingdale,"
said John Mahoney, a Questar teacher, adjunct at C-GCC and flight
instructor at Richmor, who is a driving force behind the program.
"It's like a three-legged stool. It needs everybody to stand."
This
is the first year for Columbia-Greene's aviation science program,
but Questar's aviation program is in it's third year.
So
what do students who partake in the Questar program come out of
it with?
"It's
a training program approved by the Federal Aviation Administration,"
said Dave Leavitt, Questar's director for technical education. "Students
come out of the program qualified for entry level into all aspects
of aviation employment."
But
the real kicker is that all students who complete the program come
out with a private pilot's license, which means they have completed
a minimum of 40 flight hours within the two-year program.
"Highlights
of the program are the principles of flight, aircraft systems and
performance, flight environment, meteorology, navigation, and aviation
physiology," Leavitt said.
This
year, the Questar program has 22 students, and Leavitt says it has
been growing since its inception.
The
high school program infuses four season flight instruction, aviation
theory, math, physics and technology, Leavitt said.
"Students
have gone into the military and various aviation fields," he
said. "They can go on to post-secondary schools, aviation science
majors and aeronautical engineering."
The
program is supported by the tuitions paid by the school districts,
Leavitt said, and there are no surcharges for any student.
Once
completing the Questar program, those who wish to pursue a career
in piloting can move on to the C-GCC aviation science program.
"We
started this program this year," said Doug Jones, the coordinator
of the Aviation Science major, who also holds a pilot's license."
This semester there are about seven or eight [students] in the instrument
flight course. We're recruiting students for the starting freshman
class."
Jones
described the course, saying that students, by the time they complete
it, will have earned all four ratings -- private pilot, instrument,
commercial pilot and certified flight instructor -- as well as an
associate's degree.
"This
dovetails nicely into the Questar program where the high school
juniors and seniors will get their private pilots certificate,"
Jones said, adding that that license is equivalent to the one rating
earned at C-GCC.
But
he also stressed that the college program is not just for those
students who begin with the Questar program, nor is it required
that students have any flight experience.
Like
any college program, this one has its fees. "It's normal tuition
for the courses at the college," Jones said. "The flight
portions at Richmor run between $4,000 and $6,000 for the airplane
flight time and instructor."
All
the practical labs are handled by Richmor at the Columbia County
Airport, but the college has also recently installed a flight simulator
for the students to practice approaches there.
There
does seem to be interest in the programs at both Questar and C-GCC.
"We're getting a lot of interest from the public," Jones
said. "When we introduced this it was the day before a major
airline declared bankruptcy. But the Vietnam-era pilots are reaching
retirement age so there is a shortage of pilots."
Leavitt
agrees. "It's obviously a very important field as we go into
the 21st century," he said. "It's [the program] our attempt
to meet the needs for students interested in the career."
The
Aviation Science program at the college came about when C-GCC President
James Campion approached staff and asked what program areas the
college might get into.
"Being
a pilot, I thought of aviation," Jones said. "We looked
into it and found there was a need. It was approved by the State
University of New York and the State Education Department."
In
order for the program to take flight, however, there was a need
for aviation insurance, which was undertaken by Jim McMahon at the
Aviette Agency in Ghent.
"We
are the ones who placed the insurance on the flight school,"
McMahon said. "This is a difficult economic time for that business
and they needed certain limits and coverage to protect everyone
involved."
Without
the insurance, the program could not continue. "If we hadn't
been able to do this, you wouldn't be able to have this type of
pro-integrated program from C-GCC and Questar III,2 McMahon said.
McMahon,
who has known the people at Richmor and dealt with them for a long
time, thinks that the program is a good one.
"It's
a wonderful thing because you don't have a lot of young people getting
into that career," he said. "It gives people in this local
area access to something that they would normally have to go to
St. Louis or Emery Riddle in Florida for."
Of
course, the heart of an aviation program is the flying. Therefore,
Richmor Aviation is integral in the success of the program here
in Columbia County.
Mahlon
Richards, president of Richmor Aviation, feels the program is fostering
interest in aviation careers. "I think it1s a very good program,"
he told the Register-Star . "It's getting a lot of interest
in flying that we haven't seen here in quite a few years."
Richards
credited Mahoney with recruiting people for the program and he felt
that the aviation program was good for both the schools and the
airport.
To
complete the practical flying portion of the programs, students
use both Richmor facilities, airplanes and instructors.
There
are four planes available to the students and three instructors,
Richards said. Richmor is also trying to secure school trailers
to provide places for students to go while the others are out flying.
"We
encourage it [the program]," Richards said. "We like to
have that kind of activity going on. Hopefully, in the future, it
will give us another source for pilots."
Jones
is excited by the program and it's possibilities. "It's a pretty
exciting program that we've started," he said. "We're
hoping that it takes off, no pun intended."
THIS
ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY HUDSON VALLEY NEWSPAPERS. USED
WITH PERMISSION.
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