The aviation industry, like virtually every industry during the global economic recession between 2008 and 2010, experienced some heavy turbulence. Ticket prices rose and the number of jobs declined. However, with the recent economic turnaround and a return to steady growth combined with an unprecedented demand for international air travel, the need for airline pilots is expected to take off for the next two decades.
“The aviation industry was kind of struggling there for a while, you know, and now it’s picking back up,” says Dylan Ewing, a senior in the aviation department. “A lot of the pilots who are up in the upper jobs in the airlines are reaching mandatory retirement age. Once those guys retire somebody has to fill their shoes.”
Something clicked for Ewing in high school. The London, Ohio native longed to soar through the clouds, floating above the earth. He still vividly recalls his first time flying over Athens.
“It’s kind of cool to go over places you’ve been on the ground,” Ewing says.
Now the Captain of the Flying Bobcats, the university flight team, Ewing only needed to visit one university to find the right aviation program. Instead of looking into pure aeronautic or flight schools, Ewing opted for a more diverse education focusing on the business side of aviation and a liberal arts education, not simply guiding a plane through the clouds.
“When I visited the aviation department, it seemed pretty tight-knit and seemed like a place where I could see myself,” Ewing says.
There is a projected need for 500,000 new pilots between 2013 and 2032, according to statistics from The Boeing Company, one of the largest airplane manufacturing companies in the world. The Asia and Pacific region will need the largest number of new pilots at nearly 192,000, while North America will need about 86,000, approximately 4,300 new pilots per year over the next two decades.
With the heavy demand for pilots, the number of students wanting to study aviation steadily grew at OU. Aviation Department Chair Bryan Branham focuses his time and effort on developing a quality program and letting graduates be ambassadors in the industry for the program.
In the tightly knit aviation community, word of the program spreads rapidly. Dennis Irwin, Dean of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, says the aviation department provides students with the ability not only to fly airplanes, but to think critically, manage resources and employees and, ultimately, rise to the top of a major aviation or related company. He stressed the importance of a liberal arts education combined with stringent training through the aviation department.
“It’s the difference between training and education, and the fact that this is integrated into a four-year, traditional liberal arts curriculum that you can’t get by going down to your local flight training school, that means that our folks will be, instead of just being a pilot for NetJets, the idea is that they will be the leaders of companies like NetJets,” Irwin says.
Ohio University founded the Department of Aviation in 1939 to help train pilots to fly in the military. The OU Airport originally sat near the current location of Kroger and the Athens Mall on State Street and moved to Albany, about 15 minutes southwest of the main, shortly after engineers completed the re-routing of the Hocking River in 1971. Despite the drive, Irwin says the department is still a part of the Athens campus.
“It’s part of our identity; it’s part of the identity of Ohio University and Russ College,” Irwin says. “A lot of our alumni are pilots, even people who have not graduated from the department of aviation, our namesake for us was a very accomplished pilot.”
The aviation department prepares students to meet the demands of the national aviation system by preparing future pilots through real world experiences. By graduation, students possess the ability to plan and safely conduct a flight in single and multi-engine aircraft in compliance with all applicable federal standards and regulations. Keeping the program running requires extensive effort and resources behind the scenes.
“Honestly, if you look at how it has to be managed because of purchasing airplanes, maintaining airplanes, buying fuel, passing some of those costs onto the students, collecting fees and things like that, from a managerial point of view, it’s probably our most challenging department,” Irwin says.
Students in the aviation department go through intense classroom training before ever taking off. They pair with a flight instructor for the first time during the Private Pilot Flight class. Gradually the flight instructors give the students increased control before attempting a solo flight. Branham says instructors typically see two very distinct reactions from students their first few times in the air.
“The (students) that it’s just pure excitement, you don’t really have to worry about those guys. They’ve got what I call the flying bug, they’re ready to get back in and go flying again,” Branham says. “The one’s that it’s kind of a surprise for them, we talk with them, and we have different kinds of way for approaching this all a case-by-case basis.”
Professors and flight instructors work with hesitant students to help determine whether or not they actually want to fly. Kelly McCoy a senior in the aviation department and the president of the Ohio University chapter of Women in Aviation says the professors know the difficulty of obtaining a private pilot license and often go out of the way to help students prepare to pass the examination.
“(The instructors) decide when you’re ready to move on and do different maneuvers and you do different techniques and new procedures that prepare you to get your private pilot license,” McCoy says.
Students have to be sure they want to fly because of several extra costs that come with earning an aviation degree. Students pay to use the aircraft, which includes actually renting the airplane and playing instructor fees and the cost of gas using a “wet rate,” meaning the fees include the cost of gas.
“The only thing they’ll pay in addition to (the wet fees) is, as the fuel costs fluctuates up or down, they have to pay a surcharge or they’ll get a rebate,” Branham says. “Of course, with the cost of dinosaur juice going up and up and up, there’s no rebates going on right now.”
Another very real problem the aviation department faces everyday is the risk of crashes or accidents becomes very real with students pilots. The faculty and maintenance crews with the aviation department minimize the chance of accidents by constantly checking the aircraft and making repairs to the smallest of
“It really comes down to proper training, and not allowing students to progress until they have demonstrated the skills and sort of flight awareness and skills comfort before letting them progress,” Irwin says. “It’s really a culture of emphasizing safety.”
The aviation department offers two different types of bachelor degrees and one associate degree. Students choose to pursue bachelor’s degrees in flight education or aviation management or an associate’s degree in aviation technology. A degree from the aviation department opens career possibilities as airline, corporate, and military pilots, airport and airline managers, aviation entrepreneurs, and administrators in government regulatory agencies such as the FAA.
The training fleet of the Department of Aviation consist of aircraft produced by “the big three” manufacturers of Cessna, Piper, and Beechcraft. The fleet includes two Cessna 152s, two Beecfhcraft Barons, two Piper Arrows and seven new Piper Warrior IIIs with glass cockpit technology, along with conventionally equipped aircraft. The Ohio University air fleet brings in students from all over the country, including McCoy, who says number and diversity of aircraft, contributed to her decision to come to OU.
“They have an excellent fleet of aircrafts that we train in, and that was a big factor,” McCoy says.
The FAA grades aviation programs under two similar statuses. Part 141 regulation requires schools to undergo much stricter regulation and provide a more structured learning environment. The faster pace more quickly prepares students but allows students to complete certificates in shorter hours.
Ewing hopes to work as a flight instructor after graduating to finish the required number of hours and ultimately take the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATP) test. Fortunately for Ewing the FAA allows OU Department of Aviation students to need only 1,000 hours to take the ATP practical exam after turning 23 years old. Passing the exam earns the pilot the highest level of aircraft pilot license, authorizing the pilot to act as pilot in command on scheduled aircraft carriers. OU students typically graduate with between 500 and 600 hours of flight experience.
Students who choose the two-year degree in aviation technology complete courses the FAA Part 141 flight program and learn to become professional pilots. The program enables students to earn the pilot and private pilot certificates and instrument and multi-engine ratings. Required flight courses include the private pilot certificate through the certified flight instructor certificate. Other required courses include business management, computer science, and meteorology.
Advanced flight training courses include advanced aircraft and flight crew operations, as well as corporate flight operations, with flight training in University-owned turboprop aircraft. The department also offers the airline transport pilot (ATP) course for graduates who meet ATP requirements.
“There’s some hour minimums you have to meet before you can do certain jobs, so a lot of people go and flight instruct,” Ewing says.
For students not wanting to fly, the department offers a degree in aviation management. Management students take the most current courses in aviation, business, computer science, and management as they prepare themselves for professional positions within the aviation industry.
Boeing predicts a need for 556,000 new airline technicians over the same time period. Again, the Asia and Pacific region needs the most at more than 215,000, while North America needs almost 98,000, or 4,900 new technicians over the next 20 years.
Aviation management students pursue the non-flight option offered in cooperation with the College of Business. The course of study provides students with a thorough background in aviation and business. Aviation courses include aeronautics, aviation law, aviation and airline operations and management, the national airspace system, aviation safety, and weather.
Coupled with the aviation classes, aviation management essentially major in management. Ethan Sayers, President of the Aviation Management Society says the organization helps students realize the vast amount of job opportunities in the aviation industry not behind the controls.
“That’s really what the Management of Aviation Society is about,” Sayers says. “What kind of jobs are out there? What kind career opportunities area available. Networking is a big part of it. It helps put you in touch with the right people.”
Of all the job opportunities available to graduates of the aviation program, McCoy hopes to land in corporate flight. After completing a summer internship with a Fortune 500 company, the opportunity to work with a specific group of passengers regularly appealed to McCoy.
“I kind of want a little more interaction with my passengers,” she says.
As the president of the OU chapter of Women in Aviation, McCoy discussed the need for more women pilots. Currently, women represent about six percent of all pilots, according to statistics from the FAA. McCoy says Women in Aviation helps connect female pilots. Like any industry, knowing the right people leads to more opportunities to find jobs and advance.
“I’ve been able to meet a lot of women who have helped me out already,” she says.
The organization also helps educate young women in fields like math, engineering and flight in hopes of bringing forth a larger generation of new female pilots.
Few feelings compare to guiding an airplane through the skies McCoy says nothing feels out of reach behind the controls.
“It’s just a completely different perspective on life,” she says. “It’s a way to get away from problems on the ground and to kind of escape.”
Originally posted in Backdrop Magazine.
Jacob Betzner 