Charleston Southern University plans to offer South Carolina’s first collegiate aeronautics program with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics (Professional Pilot) beginning in fall of 2021.
Charleston Regional Accelerated Flight Training (CRAFT) will provide all the flight training in their Diamond aircraft. “The CRAFT Flight Training and Simulation team is excited about the opportunity to provide flight training for the new CSU degree program,” said Amanda Aldea, Co-Owner of CRAFT in Charleston, “and to obtain our Part 141 certification.”
Students enrolled in the new program next fall will be able to choose between three main tracks: commercial, military or missionary aviation. “CRAFT’s mission is focused on elevating your lifestyle around flying and aviation, giving students access to a modern fleet of Diamond aircraft, and modern Redbird technology,” said Aldea. “We foster an environment where future pilots can fall in love with flight. This makes the CRAFT – CSU partnership a perfect fit!”
CSU President, Dr. Dondi Costin said their Aeronautics program is a natural extension of the university’s vision of integrating faith in learning, leading and serving as they prepare servant leaders to pursue significant lives. Costin believes that by preparing pilots to impact their spheres of influence as commercial, military or missionary pilots, they extend their reach into every corner of the globe.
Colonel Christopher “C.J.” Will, U.S. Air Force (retired), is the founding chair of CSU’s new Aeronautics Department, which is located within the College of Science and Mathematics. Will is a combat Command Pilot, military instructor pilot, and holds FAA Airline Transport Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor (Single and Multi-Engine) and Remote Pilot Operator certifications and ratings.
CRAFT’s training philosophy is simple. Train and master flying skills in the simulator, then reinforce them in the aircraft. Their syllabi are developed around the simulator which is incorporated from the beginning saving both time and money.
CRAFT changes the entire experience by first training you in their Redbird Full-Motion Flight Simulator so that you are more confident once you are in the airplane. They offer a wide-range of flight training from Discovery Flight, Private Pilot, Instrument Rating (IFR), Commercial Single, Commercial Multi, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), CFI-Instrument (CFI-I), Multi-Engine Rating, Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI), Airline Transport Pilot (ATP).
For more information, visit CRAFT.
