School offers flight sciences to 'Young Eagles'

Sisters High School has a new flight sciences course that will introduce students interested in flying to the world of sport aviation.

The 14 students enrolled in the class have also been enrolled as "Young Eagles" in the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) training program. As such, they will get a free one-hour flight with a certified flight instructor (CFI) compliments of the EAA. They will also receive log books and other supplies donated from Sporty's Pilot Shop, the largest aviation supply shop in the country.

Upon successful completion of the class, the students will have finished all the ground-school requirements needed for their private pilot's license.

Sisters Eagle Airport is also a full partner in this program, making their facilities available to the class whenever necessary. This makes access to local planes, pilots, and instructors compatible with student participation during the school day.

While they can't solo until they are 16, and they cannot be issued a private pilot's license until they are 17, the students can take lessons with a CFI, and the hours they log will apply toward the 60 hours they need to qualify for their license.

Teacher and private pilot Jon Renner is spearheading the course. In his research into the coursework, Renner came to understand that similar programs at other high schools had failed because they did not offer concurrent flight training.

With this in mind, Renner has submitted a grant that would give each student one hour of flight training a week for the 30 weeks of the course. This will take the students about halfway to their private pilot's license.

Renner said, "I've applied for a grant that, if funded by the State of Oregon CTE program, will provide about half the funds necessary for each student in this program to receive one flight lesson per week from a local CFI. The other half of the $6,000 required for these lessons will have to be raised either by private sponsorship by those interested in supporting these students, their parents, or through competitive national scholarship programs. Those wishing to provide support for students can make funds available for these lessons through Sisters Schools Foundation, marked as reserved for Sisters Flight Science scholarships."

By articulating this class with the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) aviation program, in a year-and-a-half at COCC the students will be able to get not only their private pilot's license but also a first-level commercial license. This will allow the kids to get an entry-level job with a regional carrier.

This program would appear to be an excellent fit with the statewide and local focus on providing training for those not interested or able to pursue a four-year degree. Such Career and Technical Education (CTE) efforts are getting a lot of state and national focus and funding.