During the Navy's flight academy program, high school students get more than 40 hours’ experience in the Vulcanair V.10, pictured, or the Piper Warrior PA-28. (Vulcanair)
The Navy kicked off its annual Summer Flight Academy this month with 28 students who aim to earn private pilot certificates before the eight-week course concludes, according to a Navy announcement recently.
High school juniors and seniors in Navy and Marine Corps Junior ROTC programs were eligible to attend, the service said in a June 7 news release. The $26,000 cost to train each student is borne by the Naval Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Coordination Office under a new STEM initiative.
This year’s students are evenly split between male and female, according to the release. The class includes students with family ties to Japan, Iran, Nigeria, India, Ukraine and the Philippines, some of whom are first-generation Americans.
Three students from the Indo-Pacific region are the only overseas students in this year’s class: Jackson Coberley of Okinawa, Japan, and Keisha Carlos and John Lawrence Austria, both of Dededo, Guam.
The primary goal of the flight academy is to “expose diverse, young talent to Naval Aviation, and inspire them to join the profession,” program manager Lt. Olivia Barrau said in the release.
The Navy is coping with a pilot shortage but one much less severe than what’s plaguing the Air Force. The Navy had about 1,000 students last fall awaiting the start of flight training due to problems associated with training aircraft and issues left over from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an Aviation Week report Nov. 15.
During the flight academy program, students get more than 40 hours’ experience in the Vulcanair V.10 or the Piper Warrior PA-28, both single engine aircraft commonly used in flight training. That includes 17 hours of planned solo flights and aviation academics, according to the release.
In addition to their private pilot licenses, students may earn five college credits upon completing the academy. The program is held at two secondary schools — Delaware State University in Dover, Del., and Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C. — and at D2 Flight Academy, a flight school in New Bern, N.C.
The program at Delaware State University began on June 12 and ends Aug. 3; Elizabeth City State University began June 1 and ends July 31; and D2 started June 5 and concludes July 29.
