SPRINGDALE – Nnamdi Olebara, a Charles Herbert Flowers High School senior, was able to obtain something that less than one percent of Americans have: a private pilot license.
Through a newly implemented Air Force initiative, Olebara was the only student throughout the Prince George’s area to complete the program and earn his certification.
Going into the third year in his high school’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC), Olebara wasn’t sure of the direction he wanted to take his career path. But after spending eight weeks at Liberty University studying aviation under the Flight Academy Scholarship Program with other high schoolers, he has become confident that his future will take him towards a career in aviation.
The Air Force JROTC Flight Academy, Chief of Staff Private Pilot Scholarship Program is an opportunity for young members of AFJROTC worldwide to earn their pilot certification at six different universities across the nation. But this program was created for a specific mission: to alleviate the national pilot shortage within both the military and civilian ranks, increase student interest in aviation and increase diversity within the field.
Maj. Patrick D. Stovall, a senior Aerospace Science Instructor at Flowers High School, explains further on the definition of diversity and what the vision of inclusion looks like for the academy.
As of right now, women make up less than six percent of pilots and minorities represent less than 10 percent.
More than 750 cadets applied to the program, with only 120 cadets being chosen based on various criteria such as letters of recommendation and passing a written test that covers general aviation knowledge. Scholarships are valued at approximately $20,000.
Once accepted into the program, students go through an intense study regimen that compacts two semesters worth of information into a six to eight-week program. With a unique classroom set in the sky, students spend eight hours in the air, mastering the techniques that would later be tested on the practical flying test for their private pilot license. Most students are coming in with zero flight hours and would have to reach the prerequisite minimum of 40 hours of practice flying time.
After that, students would return to their books, fully investing their time into learning everything about aviation.
With the program being expected to double by next summer; enrolling 500 cadets by fiscal year of 2020; and open itself up to the Army, Navy, Marine Junior ROTC programs, and the Civil Air Patrol cadets; one thing that’s being emphasized is the importance of these programs for high school students.
Back to the future or back to the past?