SIUC's Summer Wings Camp was last offered in 1988, but it has remained on people's minds, said David A. NewMyer, chairman of aviation management and flight at the school. "Usually around the first of the calendar year we get inquiries about it. That indicated there was a need, so we decided to bring it back."
Planning the weeklong event took more than a year. Lorelei E. Ruiz, assistant professor and assistant chief flight instructor, planned the curriculum and directed the camp. "You can't teach them everything [in a week]," Ruiz said. "We looked at some of the basics they would need to know to safely pilot the plane. We started out with history, then went into aerodynamics and weather - a broad spectrum of subjects at a very basic level."
Because of the intensive nature of the Summer Wings Camp and the requirement that each camper have his or her own flight instructor, the camp is limited to only eight or 10 participants, NewMyer said. "Still, it's a great way to introduce high school kids into the field," he said.
Here's Your Chance To Fly The Wright Flyer
This may be as close as you'll come to experiencing the flights made by the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903. The programmers at Microsoft have created a Wright Flyer simulator based on their popular Flight Simulator program. The simulator creates as carefully as possible the highly unstable characteristics in both pitch and roll that the Wrights had to overcome. Visitors will lie with their hips in a cradle to control wing warping and will have a control stick to control pitch. A panoramic projection screen will recreate the sand dunes of North Carolina's seashore. The simulator will travel in 2003 to Lakeland, Florida, for the Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In; and to Dearborn, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio; EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh; Seattle; and in December, to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, for the 100th anniversary of powered flight.
Academy Provides Airline Pilots
FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida, is providing a stream of pilots to the airline industry, as well as to the business aviation community. For 35 years, the academy has provided professional pilot training to new and future airline pilots, typically college graduates with 1,500 flight hours and 500 hours of multiengine time. Atlantic Coast Airlines, based at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., recently recruited 20 first officer candidates directly from the academy. Other carriers use the academy, as well; more than 200 pilots for Delta Connection carrier ASA have trained there during the past two years. For more information, visit the Web site ( www.flightsafety.com ).
School, Group Team Up To Offer Accident Investigation Course
The University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation and the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) have entered into a joint agreement to provide an advanced accident investigation course. The course is available to ALPA members, select foundation employees and students, and people who work for aircraft manufacturers. The first three-day course, which was scheduled for mid-August, was to use actual aircraft wreckage donated by a firm in California. There will be additional courses in the future. For more information, telephone Dana Siewert at 701/777-7895.
Second Bohannon Effort Falls Short Of Record
Bruce Bohannon was unsuccessful in his second and final attempt at EAA AirVenture 2002 to set a new piston-aircraft world record for time to climb to 12,000 meters (39,370 feet). "It didn't go as well as we would have liked," Bohannon said. A member of the Exxon Flyin' Tiger crew said that they would further tweak the airplane over the winter. Another attempt is likely next year.
FAA Administrator Says Farewell
Outgoing FAA Administrator Jane Garvey spent an hour and a half at Oshkosh introducing her staff, thanking the aviation community, and answering questions from a standing-room-only crowd. Garvey, whose tenure as FAA administrator has been marked by her accessibility and willingness to take public questions during events such as EAA AirVenture and AOPA Expo, said that she "appreciated the patience and support through some very tough times." Garvey presented Adrian Eichorn, who has specialized in teaching safe night flying techniques, with the Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year award. Garvey also praised the selection of Marion Blakey to take over the FAA. She said she felt that Blakey was "going to get into general aviation very quickly." When questioned about the subject of user fees, Garvey said, "we don't see it as part of any budget" at this time.
Interest High In Helicopter Training Devices
Simulator manufacturer Frasca International Inc. reports increased sales of its helicopter flight training devices (FTDs). Recent orders mark an increased interest in simulation and training among helicopter operators who are concerned about safety, as well as rising insurance and training costs.
Most of the FTDs feature Frasca's new 220-degree visual system, which provides the visual cues that are needed to simulate VFR operations, and two will incorporate actual helicopter cockpits and three-channel projected visual systems. For more information, visit Frasca International's Web site ( www.frasca.com ).
UND Foundation Under Contract To Train Cirrus Owners
Flight training for buyers of Cirrus aircraft, provided at Cirrus Design Corporation's Duluth, Minnesota, customer center, will be conducted by the UND Aerospace Foundation. The foundation is a public nonprofit corporation that links the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota with the aviation industry. Cirrus includes a training program that typically lasts two days with each aircraft sold. The Cirrus site will be the UND Aerospace Foundation's sixth training center; the foundation plans to open a seventh this fall in Williston, North Dakota.
School News
New Hampshire School Adds More CFIs
Daniel Webster College recently started training 25 new flight instructors in preparation for the incoming 2007 graduating class. This brings the flight instructor core at the Nashua, New Hampshire, college up to 50 flight instructors, supporting 275 Aviation Flight Operations majors. The school reports that inquiries about professional pilot careers have actually increased since September 11, 2001, and steady growth in the college's aviation program has created a need for new instructors. The new CFIs attend 18 credit hours of graduate-level courses to help them teach more effectively in the college's fleet, which consists of 19 Cessna 172s, four Grob 109B motorgliders, five Cap 10B aerobatic trainers, four Mooney M20Js, and three twin-engine Cessna T303s. Almost half of the new instructors are Daniel Webster graduates.
ERAU Launches Accelerated First Officer Program
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has announced an accelerated First Officer Flight Training program. The 10- to 12-month course trains first officer candidates to regional airline and corporate fleet standards. It provides 550 hours of flight experience, using Diamond Aircraft DA40-180 Diamond Star aircraft with sophisticated instrument panels, and advanced jet simulator time. The Aviation and Space Technology Academy program targets people with four-year college degrees who want to become airline pilots. Prior flight training is not required. However, candidates who have a commercial pilot certificate with instrument and multiengine ratings can complete the program in four months, school officials said. For more information, see the program's Web site ( www.asta-erau.org ).
Louisiana University Buys Three Flight Sims
In one of the largest university flight training contracts of the year, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) has purchased three Motus full-motion flight simulators from Fidelity Flight Simulation. The contract includes a single-engine piston, twin-engine piston, and twin-engine turboprop flight simulator, which will be located in the newly constructed William T. Hemphill Airway and Computer Science Building on the ULM campus. "A full-motion simulator provides motion cues to a training environment that can only be improved upon by actually flying in the airplane. These new simulators will give us the tools to grow our department not only for ULM students, but for continuing education students as well," said Paul Karlowitz, interim head of ULM's Department of Aviation. ULM's is the first university flight program in the nation to be based predominately on motion-based simulators. For more information, see the school's Web site ( www.ulm.edu/~aviation/welcome.html ).
Industry News
OMF Symphony Gets Useful Load Increase
With the blessing of both the FAA and German LBA (the German government entity with general aviation oversight), OMF Aircraft announced at EAA AirVenture 2002 in Oshkosh a useful load increase for its Symphony 160, which the company is marketing as a training airplane. The Symphony's gross weight goes from 1,960 pounds to 2,150 pounds, and the useful load increases 10 percent, from 635 pounds to 700 pounds. The increase realizes OMF's goal of offering a capable two-seat airplane, one that can carry two large adults, full fuel, and baggage, while maintaining a decent range. OMF is proceeding with plans to test a German-built Thielert diesel engine in the Symphony later this year.
French Robin To Be Certified This Year
Apex, a French company formed by the union of Cap and Robin, brought its Robin President to Oshkosh. The four-place, single-engine aircraft has been sold in Europe and Canada for several years. Director of Commercial Sales Alain Roelloux said the company is now seeking U.S. certification under a reciprocal agreement and expects U.S. certification in six months.
U.S. aerobatic champion David Martin is assisting the company with the certification effort. Dominique Roland, former world aerobatic champion and head of the former Cap company, manufacturer of aerobatic aircraft, has joined the Apex firm.
