On April 27, members of the Utah State University aviation department flew into the Carbon County Airport to meet with Carbon High students to discuss the upcoming aviation camp.
USU Eastern acting chancellor Gary Straquadine, Jamie Cano and Tyler Agner also met with the aviation department to find out more about the camp.
The Aggie Aviation Adventure camp will be held Aug. 9-11. The cost is $250, which includes lodging, meals, t-shirts, flights and all course material.
Scholarships are available to students who qualify. The aviation camp will focus on three areas—aircraft maintenance, drones and flying.
Andreas (Baron) Wesemann, an instructor and Derreck Peterson, a recent graduate of the program and certified flight instructor, made the flight from the Logan campus to speak with students.
“We hope you choose to attend the camp this summer, maybe you will realize aviation is what you want to do in the future. I knew from a young age I wanted to be a pilot,” Wesemann shared with students. “Civil Air Patrol gave me my start and helped me get into the Air Force Academy. I retired from the Air Force and have been an aviation instructor for a few years at USU.”
USU offers two degrees in aviation technology, professional pilot and maintenance management.
Professional pilot students must choose an emphasis: fixed wing or rotorcraft. These students receive Federal Aviation Administration certifications and are trained to be commercial pilots.
Maintenance management students will complete the courses required for the FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) licenses.
The pilot program is four years and the maintenance program is five semesters.
USU also has a summer flight program. The program gives students the opportunity to obtain their pilot’s license over the summer.
Students must be 17 years old by the time they complete the summer program. Graduates of the USU programs are now flying in the commercial and private industry as well as the military.
There is a critical shortage of pilots and mechanics in Utah.
In the next few years several aircraft mechanics will be retiring. If you have a degree in aircraft maintenance or aviation technology with a pilots license you will have a job when you graduate.
USU also now offers a drone minor.
There about 70 students enrolled in the classes right now and the number is expected to rise.
Another goal of the aviation camp is to get women interested in aviation.
Currently only 6 percent of commercial airline pilots are women. In the maintenance field only 1.7 percent are women.
The aviation camp will start on Thursday, Aug. 9, with registration at 8 a.m. The camp is designed for students 14-21 years old.
The classes will be divided into three groups of eight, working equally between maintenance, drones and flying. Students will receive two flights during the camp.
Student will get to take their drones home with them when the camp is complete.
On that Thursday evening there will be a fun activity with the Civil Air Patrol. On Friday the camp will continue and on Saturday a BBQ luncheon will be held for the students and their families. To sign-up visit youth.usu.edu/events/aviation.
Summer aviation camp lets students take to skies
Carbon High School students pose for a photograph with Utah State University aviation instructor Baron Wesemann during an April 27 meeting at the Carbon County Airport. The university and local civil air patrol groups are holding an aviation camp for kids Aug. 9-11.