What: Registration is open for the Aviation Career Education Academy – a five-day camp navigating 11th and 12th grade high school students toward aviation and aerospace careers. The aviation camp comes to North Texas thanks to a collaboration between the University of North Texas and Tarrant County College.
When: June 13 – 17 (Monday – Friday). 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday – Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
Where: Primarily at TCC's Northwest Campus Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics, located at 2301 Horizon Dr. in Fort Worth.
Registration: Cost is $299 per student. Deadline is May 20. Camp is capped at 32 students. Register online.
Contact: Mark.Loud@tccd.edu.
Media: Reporters will be able to film, photograph and interview students and instructors. For media passes or information, contact Monique Bird at Monique.Bird@unt.edu or 940-369-7782 or Rita L.B. Parson at Rita.Parson@tccd.edu or 817-515-1543.
DENTON (UNT), Texas — Competing with drone quad copters, calculating fuel needs for a flight plan and the chance to fly a small plane as the aircraft's co-pilot – these are just a few highlights of an aviation camp designed for high schoolers coming to North Texas. The five-day Aviation Career Education Academy, which runs June 13 – 17 (Monday – Friday), will help teens understand that when it comes to aviation and aerospace careers, the sky's the limit.
The camp is a collaboration between the University of North Texas and Tarrant County College that will give students hands-on experience in aviation, while also propelling students to careers in an industry in need of a new crop of professionals.
The general aviation population has been shrinking for years, and many current pilots are closing in on the mandatory retirement age of 65, said Mark Loud, aviation instructor at TCC.
"Aviation is facing a serious shortage of pilots in the very near future," said Loud, noting that technicians to maintain aircraft are also among the needs. "Sadly, most students entering college these days don't know all the aerospace careers that exist. This camp is a critical part of our efforts to change that and reach out to students in our community."
Both UNT and TCC offer degree programs in aviation, with TCC offering an associate's degree in flight or aircraft maintenance, and UNT offering a bachelor's degree in aviation logistics. This camp outlines the possibilities.
Campers will spent a week learning the physics of flight, competing with drone quad copters, building model gliders, learning about the design and maintenance of aircraft, practicing with computer flight simulators and flying North Texas' skies with an experienced flight instructor.
Registration is open to 11th and 12th grade high school students. The camp will primarily take place at Tarrant County College's Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics, located at 2301 Horizon Dr. in Fort Worth. Register online and get details at http://lifelong.unt.edu/ACE.