The Faith and Freedom Club of Medina heard from two local aviation buffs, Lakehills resident Ron Clark and Austin Campbell from Bulverde. Both represent organizations that encourage and support young people in the aviation industry.
Clarke brought with him David Guerra, a Bandera High School graduate and current Embry Riddle University sophomore.
Guerra is studying aircraft design at university. Clarke spoke about the Jeffrey C. Selby Memorial Flight Training Center.
An Airforce veteran, Clark and his good friend Selby had a vision of creating a flight training center where youngsters can investigate and try out flying in a simulator for free.
Guerra and Clark built the flight simulator over the course of a summer.
They acquired an Army mobile phone command center and began adapting that into a flight simulator.
It was important to Clark that the simulator mimicked a real aircraft cockpit as much as possible so they built it in the small command center so that when students step in, they experience the true feeling of being in a plane.
The simulator is a tight squeeze and all the instruments necessary to fly the aircraft are available. The simulator is designed to incorporate any type of aircraft available to fly.
The locator system in the flight simulator can also mimic any landing field or airport currently in use in the world. So, if a student chose to take off and land in Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport they could.
The flight simulator is open to any Bandera County student ages 12 to 99 with prior scheduling. To get more information about the flight simulator or to schedule a flight, interested parties can go to hillcountryflight.org.
Director of Flight Operations Austin Campbell spoke to the group about Stem Flights, a national nonprofit group which is based in Virginia.
This organization is the brainchild of retired Brigadier General Dave Brubaker who wanted a way to share his love of flying with young people.
Foreseeing the huge lack of commercial pilots, Brubaker began a mentorship program that connects young people with mentor pilots for the purpose of supporting young people in the pursuit of aviation careers or as professional pilots.
The mentor pilots and the students fly a “mission” with a preflight check, mission objectives, and debrief.
These mentor pilots are qualified volunteer pilots who are passionate about youth aviation education. They are required to pass an application process, online training and submit credentials before they fly with students. They donate their time and aircraft to support middle and high school students who are interested in aviation.
Campbell remarked that the program is quite comprehensive.
After the initial flight experience, STEM Flights follows up directly with students and their guardians to provide scholarship databases, STEM education resources, aviation career resources, and mentoring opportunities.
The organization continues to guide students down pathways to STEM and aviation careers.
STEM Flights can connect youth with mentor pilots anywhere in the country.
For more information about STEM Flights, middle school and high school students may apply online at www.stemflights.org.
