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Earning their wings

A personal flight instructor, ground school and a Cessna 152 plane is enough to make any aspiring young pilots pinch themselves. But according to the students, the crowning glory will be piloting the planes for themselves.

This week, the Department of Aviation Management and Flight at SIUC is offering the Summer Wings camp to high school students interested in learning to fly airplanes. The Southern Illinois Airport, which is just west of Carbondale, will be occupied by the eight high school students attending the camp.

"We try to give them just kind of the basics in a variety of different areas, so that they have an idea of what all is involved in learning to fly in a collegiate aviation program," said Lorelei Ruiz, the assistant chief flight instructor of Summer Wings.

The aviation camp has been around since the late '80s, but went on a hiatus until it was brought back by popular demand in 2002.

Heather Ellis, a junior at Carbondale Community High School, chose to attend the camp because of her father. When he got his individual pilot license, it piqued her interest. She went flying with him and then decided to go a step further by coming to aviation camp.

"I want to have my individual pilot's license for sure, and if I decide not to go into business, I want to be a pilot, " Ellis said.

Ellis was one of two students who received a scholarship that waived the fee to attend the camp.

Applicants had to write about their academic achievements, why they wanted to attend the camp and why they should receive the scholarship.

Alexandria Frey, a high school junior from Carterville, was the other recipient of the camp scholarship. Frey's interest in planes is another family affair and stemmed from her mother.

"She got me to where I wanted to try to learn how to fly," Frey said.

Frey is eager to explore all the options the camp has to offer.

"It seems like it's going to be pretty interesting. I think I'm going to learn a lot," Frey said.

Gus Says: I don't have to leave the ground to fly.

The first thing in the morning the students are taught is the basics of aviation in ground school. During the weeklong camp, they will learn about the history of flight, aircraft performance, aerodynamics, preflight inspection, aviation weather reports and radio procedures.

"We just scratch the surface on a handful of the subject areas, but it gives them an idea of the breadth of knowledge that is required of a pilot," Ruiz said.

Afterwards, they are led onto the airstrip, where eight white Cessna 152s are lined up waiting for the students.

The students pair off with their instructors and select a plane out of the lineup.

"They're inspecting the entire exterior of the airplane; they're checking to make all the right control surfaces are moving appropriately," Ruiz said.

Dave Belzer, a flight instructor for the camp, helped Frey with her inspection.

"I really enjoy my instruction time here. We train the best pilots, and our pilots go all over the country. Airlines, corporate, we're going to be anywhere. I'm really glad I work here," Belzer said.

Without hesitation, Ryan Lam, a senior at Carbondale Community High School, said he is most looking forward to flying the aircraft. The other seven students echoed his thoughts that they cannot wait to get in the air.

"There will be an instructor in the airplane, but they let the students do as much of the flying as they're both comfortable with. Most of them do most of the flying the first day up," Ruiz said.

The students were very attentive to their instructors, asking questions and repeating instructions. Lam enjoyed the instructors and was impressed with their knowledge.

"I like them a lot, they make everything clear so you can understand everything really well," Lam said.

Lam became interested in flying when his uncle told him about his own piloting experiences. Lam said his goal is to fly fighter jets for the military, specifically F-16s.

"We try to give them just kind of the basics in a variety of different areas so that they have an idea of what all is involved in learning to fly in a collegiate aviation program," Ruiz said.

Factoid: More information about the Summer Wings camp can be found at http://www.dce.siu.edu