PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Student pilots at Frankford High School are taking to the skies again, after being grounded for two years by COVID-19.
Three students from the school’s Aviation Academy were back at Northeast Philadelphia Airport Wednesday, receiving flight instruction toward their private pilot’s certificate.
The academy began in 2018, but was put on hold during the pandemic.
“The students who were flying in 2020 graduated in 2020, so this is a fresh group of students,” Frankford High School Principal Michael Calderone told KYW Newsradio.
“I think our real success story is these three who will be on track to get their private pilot license next year and/or this year,” Calderone said.
“Piloting is such a rare and unique thing, especially for a high school. So I just wanted to try it,” said senior Joseph Espinal.
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“Once I started flying, I said, ‘You know what? I’m staying. This is my life goal now.’”
Ynser Polanco, a Frankford junior, said he was uneasy when he first got behind the controls of a Cessna 172.
“At first I was scared of heights. But when I got into the plane and I felt the controls and felt the way that it was actually very comfortable and easy to control, it was definitely something I wanted to commit to,” he said.
Three Frankford students go to Tailwinds Flight School at Northeast Philadelphia Airport two or three afternoons each week.
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“The pilot who’s flying an airplane, we have a term for it: PIC. Pilot In Command. So as the name implies, we’re teaching leadership,” said Tailwinds owner and founder Howard Cooper.
“A person who becomes a pilot learns to be a good decision maker, learns to analyze situations, think about the proper course of events that are going to need to happen in order for a successful outcome. They have to be organized, they have to learn what are the rules and how do I follow them. Those are great qualities for any person to have in life.”
Other Frankford students in the academy who aren’t learning to fly planes can learn to pilot drones.
Grants fund the pilot's program for only three students, but School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington says he’s trying to find a way to serve more.
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“I’m interested in learning how we expand programs that provide life-changing opportunities, and in particular this very fine aviation program,” Watlington told KYW Newsradio.
About 25 students are enrolled in the Aviation Academy. Students who are not learning to fly planes may choose to train for their commercial drone license, said Frankford aviation and science teacher Josh Bergeron.
“Our goal this year is, they'll work with other student groups at the school,” Bergeron said.
“If they need aerial photography, or videos, they can kind of partner with our sports teams or after-school clubs to provide that in-house service for other students — to kind of practice what would it be like to have a drone business.”