Creating Pilot Pathways for High School Students
The Superintendent of Schools for the Weehawken Township School District in Weehawken, New Jersey, envisioned creating a new program that would enlighten the students’ curiosity while offering pathways to rewarding and exciting careers.
As the global pilot shortage became more evident, teaching students about aviation seemed like a great idea. Learning how to fly airplanes in high school is a skill and advantage not many high school students can cultivate.
How Weehawken High School Went From Zero to Pilot Pathway Program in a Year
As word of an aviation course at the high school circulated, student interest grew. Suddenly, the district needed to determine how to get the project off the ground and what resources the high school would need to run a successful program.
After researching aviation training tools, the benefits of flight simulators in the classroom became apparent. They are hands-on and engaging, and give students the ability to learn and practice real-world skills required for an aviation career.
Additionally, with the program’s specific goal to create career pathways for its students, the district identified an opportunity to derive even more value from its equipment purchase. It would acquire flight simulators certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing students to use the simulators in the school for actual flight training toward a private pilot certificate.
After much research, Weehawken decided to work with Redbird because of the company’s reputation for designing and manufacturing high-fidelity simulators at an affordable price point, having responsive and professional in-house technical support, and offering several simulator models that could be used for loggable hours recognized by the FAA.
Based on the growing demand in the school for aviation classes, the school district purchased five Jay Velocity training devices, two FAA-approved TD2 Basic Aviation Training Devices (BATDs), and one FAA-approved full-motion MCX Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD).
With the TD2s, students can log up to 2.5 hours toward a private pilot certificate and 10 hours toward an instrument rating when they train with a certified flight instructor (CFI). With the MCX, they can log up to 2.5 toward the private, 20 toward the instrument, and 50 hours toward a commercial pilot certificate when they train with a CFI.
All the simulators integrate seamlessly into the AOPA Foundation High School Aviation STEM Curriculum, which the program uses to teach the course. Redbird offers a free simulation supplement for AOPA’s curriculum, which provides nearly 50 additional flight simulation lessons.
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About Weehawken
The Weehawken Township School District is a progressive, student-centered community of learners in pursuit of collective and individual excellence. To this end, it implements systems and structures that ensure all students will achieve at their maximum academic potential, develop values that embrace civic responsibility, and hone skills to adapt to a dynamic global society.
The Results
Weehawken built the foundation for a successful high school aviation program in the first year, growing the program from 16 students to over 73. One graduating student from the first group of 16 continued his aviation studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and another continued his flight training. Several students in the current group have expressed a desire to continue working toward an aviation profession.