ASHTABULA COUNTY, Ohio — A new program at Ashtabula Technical and Career Campus is teaching students the basics of flying.
The new two-week course teaches students enough to take and, hopefully, pass the written portion of the Federal Aviation Administration's glider test for private pilots.
The course has been eye-opening for many of the students. Fifteen-year-old Annelise Robar didn't even know an aviation career was a possibility for her.
"It's just so fun knowing how the plane flies," she said. "How the wind currents go around the plane. It's just really interesting to know how stuff we take for granted operates."
The goal is to get students like Robar interested in aviation.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be more than 16,000 job openings in aviation every year for the next decade. This includes pilots, air traffic controllers and mechanics.
Instructor Bryce Kujat said it's programs like this that will help get those jobs filled.
"We have safe aviation in this country because we start people really young," he said. "We pay attention to them."
At the end of the course, students will be able to pilot a glider and have their student pilot license. They can continue their education at any college they choose.
Robar still has some time to decide if an aviation career is on her horizon. But this class has shown her what's possible.
"I'll see where this takes me," she said. "The sky is the limit, literally."
The program was completed through a partnership with The Grit Project. To learn more, click here.
To learn more about A Tech, click here.
