An Aviation Program being offered in the Atlantic Community School District was discussed during a meeting Wednesday evening of the Atlantic School Board. Aviation Program Coordinator Lisa Sonntag said the District is just getting started with their program here. The District is one of 165 schools nationwide that offer the curriculum this year. She said Clarinda and Atlantic are the only schools in Iowa to offer the program.

From left to right: Aviation Program students Chase Vogl and Corbin Logemann; Aviation Instructor Lisa Sonntag. (Ric Hanson/photo)

The need for such a program, she said, is evident in light of the number of pilots who will be retiring from Commercial airlines in the coming years. She said Boeing reports they will be about 240,000 pilots short in about 20-years. The FAA gave out only 5,500 licenses last year. UPS is also going to be looking for pilots and mechanics just to keep their fleet running. Another element of the program deals with drones. In fact, the students had a chance within the past couple of weeks to look at and operate some drones, under the guidance of Technology Director Roger Warne and Eric Miller, Industrial Tech & Ag Instructor.

Sonntag said program is set up for four-years, but only the year-one curriculum is rolled-out. This year is the test year for year-two. Each year, another year is added to the curriculum. After year two, the students should be able to take the written FAA ground test for an eventual pilot’s license. Twenty students are participating in the curriculum this year. Students each semester’s build will cover different topics, including the construction of a small scale wind tunnels. The course includes the use of two cockpit flight simulators similar to a video game, but much more technical in nature. Sonntag said she’d eventually like to have four-to six more simulators as the years progress.

The program course features two Career and Technical Education pathways: Pilot, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones). All curriculum materials are provided to schools at no cost, thanks to generous donations made to AOPA (The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) Foundation.