Seneca students get ready for takeoff
JACKSON TWP. — Students in Alison Schuster’s Seneca Valley High School aviation class put their classroom experience to practical use last month when they visited the Condor Aero Club at Zelienople Municipal Airport.
The 20 students in the class worked with 10 pilots with commercial, military, and recreational experience who answered the students’ questions about pursuing careers in aviation.
Schuster, who has been teaching the class for five years, said while none of the seven planes brought by the club’s pilots left the ground, the students were able to do preflight checks and study plane instrumentation.
“It’s really helpful to us. The club opened its doors to my students,” said Schuster.
“This is a science elective,” Schuster said. “It’s a survey course. It teaches the basics of aviation. They learn the physics of flight.”
“It allows them to get an exposure to the field,” she said. “This is a great time to get involved in aviation, whether as a private, commercial or military pilot or an air traffic controller or in aircraft maintenance.”
Her course covers specific information about various types of aircraft and their construction; aerodynamic principles of flight; FAA rules and regulations governing aircraft, their operation, the flight environment, and the pilots who fly them; basic principles of navigation, communications and air traffic control; and the economic and social impacts of aviation.
Each student is given time to evaluate and practice simulated flight through the use of programs in the computer lab.
“I’ve had two or three students in every class go on in the field,” said Schuster, who’s had her own pilot’s license for 23 years.
One of last year’s aviation students, 2015 graduate Sarah Melton, recently completed her pilot’s license with the Aero Condor Club in August.
“I took Mrs. Schuster’s aviation class in the fall of 2014 (her senior year). I was on track to graduate a semester early because I had enough credits, so I needed a semester-long class and I had always been interested in aviation, said Melton, the daughter of Mike and Donna Melton of Cranberry Township.
“When I learned the specifics of getting a pilot’s license, I was determined to accomplish it eventually. Mrs. Schuster helped to expedite that process by telling me how many opportunities there were for students (including cheaper insurance rates) and I decided to pursue my private pilot’s certificate before I went to college,” Melton said.
Melton said there are three parts to obtaining a pilot’s license: Passing a written examination, completing a minimum of 40 hours of flight training, and passing a check ride with an FAA instructor.
Melton said, “Mrs. Schuster’s class absolutely helped me pass my written exam and make the most out of my flying lessons, because I had already learned the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of flying, so when I actually flew I was able to focus more on ‘how’ to put everything I learned into action.”
She said she flew sporadically throughout the winter and passed the written test in June and her check ride Aug. 7.
“Getting my pilot’s license this year was definitely the best experience of my life. I learned so much and met so many incredible people that helped me along the way,” Melton said.
Melton is attending American University in Washington D.C., majoring in International Studies and is enrolled in ROTC. She said she hopes to eventually fly for the Air Force.
“Because of all the airspace security restrictions, I don’t fly while I’m at school, but the airport is the first place I go when I’m home,” Melton said.
