Reading, writing and flying: School districts look to the skies
The first time Diljot Dhaliwal pulled back the steering wheel and took off, a cadre of classmates watched over his shoulder.
As the horizon teetered at a steep angle on the screen and the flight simulator emitted angry beeps, J. Percy Page High School aviation teacher David Williams calmly told Dhaliwal to ignore them and find the flap lever.
The demonstration was part of the high school course Aviation 35, which Edmonton Public Schools offered for the first time this winter. It serves as an introduction to the industry and a free ground school for students who’d like to get their pilot’s licence.
Edmonton Catholic Schools, meanwhile, has just inked an agreement with Mount Royal University and WestJet to begin offering two aviation classes at St. Joseph High School beginning next year.
At a Catholic school board meeting in February, WestJet pilot Capt. David Hathaway said airlines are anxious to begin training the next generation of pilots as the industry balloons. With about 10,000 more passenger aircraft expected to join the worldwide fleet in the next decade, airlines need an estimated 255,000 more pilots to fly them, Hathaway said.
Williams said the impending shortage of pilots is so acute, prospective employers are already eyeing up students enrolled at the high school level.
Williams, who logged 1,900 hours in helicopters as a military flight engineer before becoming a teacher, is leading 11 students through the city’s first schoolbased aviation course at the Mill Woods high school.
With materials and oversight provided by the Edmonton Flying Club, Williams guides students through air laws, meteorology lessons and the mechanics of airplane functions.
They’ll learn to navigate, plot a flight path, read signs on the tarmac and talk to an airport control tower. Unless they get flight training through the military, the cost of flying lessons can be a barrier to people entering the field, he said.
Williams’ students will take the PSTAR exam, which is like getting a learner’s licence before you can sit at the controls of a plane.
When classes begin next year at St. Joseph High School, students who take the aviation and meteorology classes will earn dual credit for two Mount Royal University classes needed for the two-year aviation certificate.
Cheryl Shinkaruk, manager of programs and projects at Edmonton Catholic Schools, said students will also take field trips to Edmonton and Calgary airports to visit WestJet hangars and have access to the flight simulators that professional pilots use for training.
The classes will be offered after school, so students from other schools can attend. The district is waiting for final course approval from Alberta Education, Shinkaruk said.
It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to not only learn about being a pilot, but managing a ground crew and flight crew, said Tim Cusack, assistant superintendent of learning services innovation.
J. Percy Page student Dhaliwal hoped his virtual flight was the first of many times he’ll be in charge in the cockpit. The 18-year-old Grade 12 student aims to work as a commercial pilot someday, because “it’s not boring. Good pay.”
Alex Tauber, a 15-year-old army cadet in Grade 10, was thrilled when he heard aviation was on offer at his school. In addition to a fascination with the mechanics of flight, he’s anxious to become a commercial or military pilot to meet people and see the world.