Spring Break
General Aviation Day
The ups and downs of the GA world
By Erik Skjerseth
Issue date: 5/10/07 Section: Features
| |
| |
| |
|
Eight in the morning may seem early for college and high school students, but aviation enthusiasts never miss an opportunity to see an airplane fly, land, or arrive in Carbondale. Saturday, everyone's dreams came true as seven aircraft landed at the Carbondale airport for General Aviation Career Day.
As each of the seven planes taxied to the ramp, students and parents took pictures and videos after they had checked in for the fun day of excitement at the Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale.
After each airplane landed and shut down its engines, prospective students, their parents, college student volunteers, and faculty lined up in front of the aircraft for a group picture, before the prospective students separated into groups for their own personal tour and flight around Southern Illinois.
Suddenly, with out warning from the east, a low rumble and hum could be heard, but no aircraft was in sight. All of the sudden a student on the ramp yelled, "Look! A helicopter is coming!" Suddenly the group fell silent as the crowd turned their eyes to the sky as the aircraft landed on the tarmac hundreds of feet from where the crowd was standing.
As the rotors stopped, a pilot, medic, and nurse emerged from the Bell 206 Helicopter. The helicopter is based in Marion at the Heartland Regional Medical Center and operated by Air Evac Life Team, a regional organization which operates helicopter services for different hospitals in the area.
Air Evac was one of many businesses represented for the sixth annual aviation career day at SIUC. Other companies included, Levi, Ray, and Shoup Inc., and The National Business Aviation Association. Every pilot and members from the aviation side of the company spoke individually to students throughout the morning answering any question they wanted answered.
After the group shot at nine, a group of students gathered around the Bell 206 and its pilot. Gary Anderson, the pilot, told the inquisitive group he had over 1400 hours in helicopters, some of the time came from the military while others came from the civilian world. Gary said he also has 400 hours in fix winged aircraft. After Gary told the crowd how many hours he had, SIUC Junior, Melissa Burk asked, "What do you think is easier, flying an airplane or a helicopter?"
Gary responded with no hesitation or sputter in his voice, "Helicopters, defiantly." With over 1400 hours, he has experienced 12 in-flight emergencies, 11 of which were in the military; which he said did not count as real emergencies.
Another prospective student chimed in, "is it harder to handle a helicopter in an emergency?" Gary said the Federal Aviation Administration would not certify an aircraft airworthy unless it met a strict safety record. A helicopter, according the Gary, handles like any fixed wing aircraft, as long as the pilot knows what he is doing through the emergency.
As Gary talked to students about his aircraft and the benefits of having a helicopter license, other students were getting ready to take their first flight on board one of SIU's more than 35 aircraft. Students were taken up in groups of three with one of the fifteen flight instructors on hand for the day.
The flight toured students around the campus and lakes of Southern Illinois. As the students landed, they jumped out of the airplane, every prospective student had a wide grin on their face, some smiles were found below sunglasses which students wore. Students commented, "That was awesome," "I really liked the aircraft," and "I want to do that landing again."
Many of the airplanes flown in for the day were piloted by Aviation alums. One of the pilots on the Gulfstream was the father of a current SIU aviation flight and management student. Everyone who attended the career day was let in on a different part of the aviation world from the viewpoint of general aviation. General aviation includes any flight which takes place in the United States which is for hire or private not associated with the airlines.
General aviation comprises of all business flights and personal flights which people take every day. The general aviation world is completely different from the airline world, this is one reason why SIU hosts both an airline career day and a corporate aviation day.
As the morning wore on, prospective students and their parents were introduced to the many career options in the general aviation world and the different career paths which SIU offers students over the course of their college career.
As noon rolled around, students were found talking amongst themselves and their parents in the upper terminal area eating lunch before heading out to campus for a forum on the current state of general aviation and how to enroll in Southern Illinois University.
Be the first to comment on this story