NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT (KYW Newsradio) — Some Philadelphia students are getting a chance to take to the skies, thanks to a pilot program that’s teaching them to be … pilots.
Kadir Hill is a 10th grader at String Theory School in Philadelphia, and like a lot of other kids his age, he is figuring out what he wants to do with his life. He got some help by participating in a new program that's letting students explore their interest in aviation.
“It was fun,” Hill said. “Up in the plane, seeing a buildup of stuff around me.”
In all her 16 years, String Theory School 10th grader Kennedy Vaughn had never even been on an airplane, but that changed on Tuesday afternoon when she got to copilot one.
“At first, I was nervous for the takeoff, but my instructor helped me. And then, after that, I was pretty comfortable with everything else. And everything else was pretty much smooth riding and fun and easy.”
She spent about 20 minutes in the air, getting a one-on-one lesson from an experienced pilot.
“It was a fun experience, and a learning experience for everyone.”
Officials with string theory say that the experience might be fun for the kids but they're doing it for a bigger purpose.
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In all, 10 students got to participate, “with the goal of getting them into a program this fall where we hope to launch a full scale aviation academy with kids in high school,” said String Theory cofounder Jason Corosanite
Corosanite says the mission of this new program is to increase opportunities for kids in Philadelphia by giving them a chance to succeed in an industry where they otherwise might be grounded.
“Over the next eight years, the commercial airline industry is going to have to add over 14,000 new pilots per year. There’s huge demands for pilots, with increased diversity. There’s only about 3-or-4% of pilots that are women. About 10-to-12% are African American.”
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Vaughn, who has yet to so much as drive a car, says this may be her first time in the air, but it will not be her last.
“This has definitely expanded my choices for what I want to become in the future. This is definitely now on my list,” she said,
Officials with String Theory hope to have the aviation academy for students soaring high this fall.