by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Area students spread their wings
Cloudy skies and cross winds didn’t provide the best atmosphere for flying Thursday, but collegiate flying teams continued to show their skills at a regional competition hosted by Jacksonville University at Jacksonville Jet Port at Cecil Field.
The National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s Region IX competition began Tuesday and will finish with an awards banquet Saturday night at JU, but between those two days students will get to experience the academic, professional and social atmosphere of the regional competition.
“It’s a great event for the students,” said Jeff Harrison, coach and associate professor of Aeronautics at the Davis College of Business at JU. “In an academic sense, we have the best students showing off their skills. Professionally, all of the schools share information, so students are able to see what other schools are doing. It also provides a good opportunity to network and socialize with other people in the tight-knit aeronautical industry.”
The association has 11 regions in all , and Region IX includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Schools that compete in the region are: Auburn University, Broward College, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Florida Institute of Technology, Jacksonville University, Lynn University, Miami Dade College and Middle Georgia College.
Students compete in both flying and ground events. The flying events included power off landing, short field approach and landing, navigation, message drop, IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) precision flight, IFR simulated flight and Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT).
The ground events included: computer accuracy, ground trainer, aircraft preflight inspection, aircraft recognition, simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation (SCAN) and electronic flight computer.
The event drew about 85 competitors on seven teams this year from Auburn University, Broward College, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville University and Miami-Dade College. A total of 150 attended the event including coaches and family of competitors.
JU’s flight team is supported by volunteers and private donations currently, and coaches Harris and Rhett Yates enjoy donating their time to the program.
“We’ve got some great kids in our program,” said Yates. “They really know what path they want to take and focus on their goals.”
Passion for flying is one reason the students stay focused on earning their degree and gaining as much knowledge as possible.
“While the industry may have seen its share of ups and downs lately, I’m glad I chose to come to JU for the Aviation/Business program,” said Joey Collura, a junior from Tampa. “I want to fly for a living and JU offers a great opportunity to help me do that. The class size has allowed me develop a good relationship with my instructors and we have a great partnership with the Delta Connection Academy.”
The Delta Connection Academy provides flight training at Craig Municipal Airport with a fleet of Cessna and Piper aircraft.
Pilot isn’t the only job description that is launched from area schools. Air traffic controllers will be in high demand throughout the next 10 years due to the high number of controllers becoming eligible for retirement.
“It’s drawing a lot of interest from students,” said Sam Fischer, Aviation Program Coordinator for Florida State College at Jacksonville. “They see the simulator and they say it looks like a big video game.”
U.S. Department of Labor expects an increase in job opportunities each year between 2006-16 for those graduating from FAA training programs. Opportunities to gain education in the aeronautical field will increase next fall when Florida State College at Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and Flightstar Aviation Services open an airplane coating and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) education facility at Cecil Field. Groundbreaking occurred at the site in September and the three-bay facility is expected to open in the fall.
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