- November 16, 2024
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Amber Cole, behind the controls, "takes off" using a flight simulator in the aeronautical flagship program at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Behind her Embry Riddle Aeronautical University assistant professor Hillary Stevens advises. Photo Jacque Estes
Students like Amber Cole use flight simulators under the watchful eye of Hillary Stevens, an assistant professor at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, who also teaches the Aeronautical Flagship program at FPC. Photo Jacque Estes
Rylan Piasecki, seated, and Garrett Ferenz, work on a flight simulator at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Photo Jacque Estes
Rylan Piasecki uses a flight simulator at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Photo Jacque Estes
Amber Cole adjusts the controls, in the classroom at Flagler Palm Coast High School. On her own, Amber also takes flying lessons. Photo Jacque Estes
The phrase “pull up the throttle,” isn’t an unusual one in Building 7, room 115 at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Inside this room there are two flight simulators and a wind tunnel that currently make up the hands-on equipment for the aeronautics program.
A recent $5,000 donation from The Women’s Initiative of Flagler County, a group organized through the United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties, and a matching $5,000 grant from the Flagler County Education Foundation means the Aerospace Flagship Lab at FPC will soon be adding more equipment.
“The Aeronautics flagship program was conceived out of an idea by the economic opportunity council and the need for aeronautics positions in Flagler County,” FPC Principal Dustin Sims said. “Being directly across from the airport we were the perfect school fit to be able to put together a flagship program. There are 50 high schools in the state that have aeronautics flagship programs.”
Sims sees the program as a way to have something for students to come home to after college.
“The industry needs this and we don’t want the kids to come to FPC and then leave forever,” he said. “We want them to get their training, their degrees and their credentials, and return here.”
Two years ago FPC and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University began their partnership that allowed the high school students to get college credits through dual enrollment, and enjoy all the benefits that the college-age ERAU students have. And all at no cost.
“We were approached by Embry Riddle on how we could utilize their resources and course work and partner with us,” Sims said. “We are looking into the Civil Air Patrol and how to bring them into this.”
The aeronautics teacher is Hillary Stevens, an assistant professor of Aeronautical Science at ERAU.
Amber Cole, Rylan Piasecki and Garrett Ferenz are three of the 35 students enrolled in the program.
Amber, an 11th grade student, takes her aerospace interests beyond the classroom and a few thousand feet up with flying lessons. She admits she has had a driving lesson or two but prefers to be in the cockpit of a plane rather than behind the wheel of a car.
Her love of flying and interest in the high school aerospace class started with her uncle who works for a major airline.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I looked into this and I really like it,” she said. “I would like to be a commercial pilot.”
The high school class keeps their feet on the ground with the classroom simulators and simulator programs on their laptops, but they also get to work with unmanned aircraft systems – drones. Because of the school’s proximity to the Flagler County airport the drones are flown inside the classroom, in the gymnasiums and sometimes down open hallways.
“We had a chance to fly them in class last year,” Rylan said. “We made an obstacle course in the classroom with the chairs.”
Stevens explained the flying restrictions for the drones.
“This close to the airport we have airspace limitations,” she said. “Drones can’t be flown within five miles of an airport so we fly in the gyms and classroom.”
Stevens said a remote controlled aircraft club may be implemented as an afterschool program.
“There are lots of students interested,” she said.
The aerospace students are taking the Astronaut Challenge this year. The statewide competition is comprised of questions based on flying, the flight simulator and aerodynamic rocket questions.
“Questions a student would need to know if they were considering becoming an astronaut,” Stevens said. “The regional winner moves on to the Kennedy Space Center for three days to compete against one another.”
The classes are open to all students, after they have completed an introductory course.
