{"id":17060,"date":"2020-12-07T12:42:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T12:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=17060"},"modified":"2020-12-07T12:43:57","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T12:43:57","slug":"auburn-department-of-aviation-flying-high-poised-for-great-future-despite-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/alabama\/auburn-department-of-aviation-flying-high-poised-for-great-future-despite-pandemic\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Auburn Department of Aviation Flying High, Poised for Great Future Despite Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Neal Reid <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered businesses, curbed\nprogress in countless areas and stunted growth across the globe, but Auburn\nUniversity\u2019s Department of Aviation has weathered the storm and is flying high\nas another semester comes to a close on the Plains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a record number of approximately 160 students joining\nthe storied program this fall, the flourishing department kept its talented\nteam of instructors and team leaders busy accommodating an increase in interest\nwhile adjusting to \u201cnew norms\u201d forced by the pandemic. The Department of\nAviation boasts roughly 400 students who are professional flight majors and\nanother 200-plus aviation management majors, giving Auburn a robust presence in\nthe aviation world and an optimistic outlook toward a promising future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
James Birdsong<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe freshman class is bigger than the senior class,\u201d said\nJames Birdsong, aviation program coordinator and recent winner of the 2020\nAlumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. \u201cThe net number of graduates\neach year is probably about 50 to 60 right now, but that number\u2019s going to\nincrease more and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese men and women are young, and they\u2019ve got 40 years\nahead of them in the industry. They\u2019re going to be really good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic forced the airline industry into a holding\npattern over the summer, but that has begun to change this fall. Balanced by a\nsignificant number of the nation\u2019s pilots \u201caging out\u201d due to the mandatory\nretirement age of 65, others opting for early retirement and an increase in\ncorporate air travel in the wake of the coronavirus, the need for pilots\nremains strong, according to Auburn\u2019s experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think demand will be what it was pre-COVID for our\ngraduates,\u201d said Bill Hutto, past acting chair and Airport and Aviation Center\ndirector. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be well-positioned to take advantage of the\nindustry bounce back. The future is really bright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Auburn alum Riley Smith, a pilot for SkyWest Airlines, shows students around the cockpit of one of the airline\u2019s jets. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Based at Auburn University Regional Airport, the Auburn\naviation program has produced more than 4,000 alumni the past 75 years and has\ndeep roots that date back to 1939, when the university purchased the airport to\ntrain pilots for World War II. The department provides private and commercial\npilot certification, instrument ratings, multi-engine ratings, certified flight\ninstructor training, among other instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both degrees qualify for the Federal Aviation\nAdministration, or FAA, Restricted Airline Transport Pilot certification, and\nthe department\u2019s headquarters also serve as a testing center for FAA exams. Its\nresources include 35 Cessna 172s and four Piper Seminoles, the department also\nhas a simulator bay at its disposal and in 2018 partnered with Delta to open\nthe Delta Air Lines Aviation Education Building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This September, the program\u2019s Striped Wings Student Aviation\nAmbassadors produced an in-depth tour video highlighting Auburn Aviation, and\nits \u201cPlanes on the Plains\u201d historical video series debuted in early October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training more than pilots<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Auburn\u2019s aviation program, especially the aviation\nmanagement major, is designed to teach students the business side of the\nindustry. With a goal of giving students a comprehensive understanding of all\naspects of aviation operations, it can lead to careers with airlines, airline\nmanufacturers, airports and other segments of the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
James Witte<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Auburn Department of Aviation Chair James Witte stresses the\nfact that Auburn\u2019s diverse aviation program is not solely looking to churn out\npilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t train pilots here, we train aviators,\u201d said Witte\na U.S. Army veteran who soloed his first aircraft in 1957, the same year\nAuburn\u2019s football team won its first national title. \u201cWe\u2019re training people\nhere who go into the cockpit who are cognizant of the industry and are\ncognizant of the forces that make an industry successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this is an important element that, to a large\nextent, sets us apart from other entities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By doing so, Witte says, Auburn will help produce\nwell-rounded leaders who will be major contributors once the industry fully\nrecovers as estimated in 2023 or 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very confident in the future projections,\u201d Witte\nsaid. \u201cThe complexion of the industry will change as a result, but I think by\ndiversifying, we\u2019re staying on the cutting edge of the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding future collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Auburn\u2019s Department of Aviation, part of the College of\nLiberal Arts, has worked in tandem with a number of other departments and\ncolleges across campus, and that tradition will only grow in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe strength of this department is the collaboration that\nit has with other departments and colleges, from kinesiology to psychology to\neducation, hotel and restaurant management to human sciences,\u201d Hutto said.\n\u201cBecause aviation touches so many aspects, I think that\u2019s very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, program leaders have been meeting with other\nindustry leaders to forge relationships that will lead to new partnerships in\nthe future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very much looking forward to having an agreement with\nSouthern Union State Community College to be involved with the training of\naircraft mechanics,\u201d Witte said. \u201cWe\u2019re also looking seriously at the prospect\nof contributing to flight attendant\u2019s training. It\u2019s a joint effort with the\nhospitality, restaurant management folks. So, we\u2019re looking at contributing to\nthe entire industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witte said he and Birdsong have worked on a project with the\nFAA focused on air traffic control training to further broaden the program\u2019s\nhorizons. The industry itself is evolving and expanding into fields like drone\npiloting, and that growth venture could result in a larger presence in Auburn\u2019s\ntraining programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really neat to sit down with people outside your own\ndiscipline and listen to how they look at things,\u201d Witte said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re\nlooking at here is a program that prepares the pilot for the FAA certification.\nUnmanned aircraft are used in agriculture, forestry, law enforcement, mapping\nand the real estate industry. We\u2019re looking to take the program that we now\nhave and expand it into more applications that are industry centered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diverse, talented students, team leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Auburn\u2019s aviation program is 16% female, which is three\ntimes the national average for the industry and a source of strength, according\nto its leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Auburn students in the Department of Aviation\u2014like 2016 grad Ashley Tucker, shown here during her time on the Plains\u2014learn all aspects of the aviation business and are training to be the industry\u2019s leaders of the future. Tucker is now a First Officer at SkyWest Airlines. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a women\u2019s flight team here, and when those young\nladies pull into a traffic pattern to come in and land, everybody\u2019s watching,\u201d\nWitte said. \u201cAll of us here are extremely proud of the status of those young\nladies, and they\u2019re knocking it out of the park.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other standouts among the Auburn Aviation student body\ninclude football players Nick Brahms and Anders Carlson, both sons of pilots,\nand they recently were featured in this AL.com article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlanta native Will Leveille\u2014a 2017 professional flight\ngraduate who works as a corporate pilot in the air transportation department at\nthe Auburn airport\u2014recently was named to the 2020 Business Aviation Top 40\nUnder 40 list by the National Business Aviation Association. The 26-year-old\nhelped found the Striped Wings Student Aviation Ambassador organization at\nAuburn and has served as an ambassador with the Commemorative Air Force Red\nTail Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Auburn\u2019s experienced group of instructors and its management\nteam go to work each day fueled by a love of the industry, a desire to mold and\ntrain the aviators of tomorrow and are inspired by the ever-changing nature of\nthe business. They come from a variety of backgrounds and geographic areas, but\nare unified by a duty to provide students a holistic and inter-disciplinary\napproach to learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bill Hutto<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have people from corporate aviation, from military, from\nairlines, from airport backgrounds, you name it, that bring the different\ndiversity to the table,\u201d Hutto said. \u201cWe work with each other, and it\u2019s really\nunique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witte is the newest addition to the department\u2019s leadership\nteam, and he has thoroughly enjoyed his time thus far at Auburn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great place to be,\u201d Witte said. \u201cIt\u2019s a vibrant\nenvironment and just a really exciting time. I like to call it \u2018entrepreneurial\neducation.\u2019 We\u2019re not just sitting here waiting for students to come in. We\u2019re\ncarving programs that attract students to come in, and then we solicit for them\nin the marketplace when they graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One word comes to Hutto\u2019s mind to describe the department\u2019s labor of love\u2014passion. \u201cWhen you enjoy what you do and there\u2019s a passion, that\u2019s\nwhat drives this whole program,\u201d Hutto said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have passion, you\ndon’t belong on this staff. You’re not going to survive. You’re going to get\nrun over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Auburn University\u2019s Department of Aviation utilizes a fleet of 35 Cessna 172s and four Piper Seminoles as part of its pilot training program. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hutto also applauded university and state administrators for\ntheir support through the years and said that united front has helped Auburn\nAviation reach new heights, with even grander achievements on the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had support from university leadership and support\nfrom the state of Alabama,\u201d Hutto said. \u201cIt takes all of that, but one thing\nabout this team is that we\u2019re mission-focused, so we don\u2019t get lost in the\nweeds. It\u2019s, \u2018This is what we need to do. What\u2019s in the best interest of our\nstudents? What’s in the best interest of our university? Let’s get it done.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been the mindset that has taken us forward. So, the\nfuture\u2019s bright for all in aviation. It\u2019s really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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