PHOENIX — Cadets who are apart of Shadow Mountain High School’s Space Force JROTC program are learning how to fly without taking to the actual skies.
At just 17 years old, Dane Strong already has his private pilot’s license, and he’s helping his fellow classmates learn how to fly a plane.
“My dad is a pilot. He kind of inspired me to do this,” he told ABC15.
The minimum number of hours to get a private pilot’s license is 40, and you must be at least 17 years old.
Through grants, Lt. Col. William Bones, who teaches the Space Force JROTC, said they were able to get the $150,000 simulator to help young students get hands-on experience. Students from other schools in the Paradise Valley Unified School District go to Shadow Mountain High to take part in the flight simulator.
“The flight simulator helps us because other than me teaching in class, they get to see how instruments all work together, when you’re pitching up, pitching down, how does your speed increase,” he explained.
It feels like flying a small airplane, both Strong and Bones said.
While junior student Jasy Justus is working toward getting her private pilot’s license, she’s glad to have the simulator.
“Hopefully, I learn the instruments well enough on the flight simulator to where I’ll feel confident in a real plane,” she said.
That is the goal, according to Bones. They want to help students get prepared enough in the flight simulator to actually fly in a plane. Which, some of the cadets in part of the program go on to do through scholarships and then attend an eight-week academy.
Through that academy, students usually start flying solo within a few weeks. Eventually, they’ll get their private pilot’s license, which some students get before they get a driver’s license and even graduate high school.
“Something just calls me to it. It’s super fun,” Justus said of wanting to fly. “It’s just a different experience going up into a simulator and try it out instead of looking at videos.”
