Air Force Jr. ROTC Flight Academy aims to fill a massive pilot void in the United States
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Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy cadets at K-State Polytechnic. Photo courtesy Salina Airport Authority
By TIM UNRUH Salina Airport Authority
A gaping gully in the American pilot pool prompted action by the United States Air Force two summers ago, and it appears to be helping to fill both civilian and military voids.
Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus in Salina enjoys a major role in the Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy that just completed its second summer session. The acronym ROTC stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Nationally, the academy has so far gifted a private pilot certification to more than 150 young men and women from high school to college age, 30 of them who attended the academy at K-State Poly since 2018.
“It’s a great deal for these kids if they want to take advantage of it,” said Prof. Bill Gross, chief flight instructor at the Salina campus.
The cost of a private pilot’s license alone is nearly $10,000, he said, and the Air Force requires no military service in return. The Air Force pays airfare for cadets to and from their summer training site, along with room and board, use of aircraft, flight time, use of facilities, and course materials.
After eight weeks, the cadets also complete up to eight college credit hours – no charge.
University staff supply the flight and classroom instruction.
The academy effort was launched from the top, by Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David L. Goldfein, through the Air Crew Crisis Task Force, said Lt. Col. Vanessa Saks, of JROTC Outreach & Communication, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala.
“The chief of staff identified a few years ago that we need to reach kids at a young age to get them interested in aviation, to address the shortage of pilots,” Saks said. “If they go in the military, awesome; love it. But if they go into the civilian side of it, we’re helping on that end.”
Pulling from Federal Aviation Administration figures, she said, “we need 6,000 to 8,000 pilots annually for the next 20 years, and that’s not being met.”
The flight academy began in the summer of 2018 with 120 cadets training at six different universities. This year it grew to 150 cadets at 11 universities, Saks said.
At K-State Poly, the program attracted 12 students from six high schools in 2018 and 18 students from 10 schools this past summer, Gross said. “It’s to see if there is an interest,” he said. “The hope is they (enter) the Air Force, and some said it was their plan. Some weren’t sure.”
Summer flight academy moves quickly.
“We take a year-long program and condense it to eight weeks, give or take. It’s an aggressive program,” Saks said. “Some people take a little bit longer in the program to get used to it.”
Gross flew with the students to make sure they acquired their skills. He estimated up to four from the 2019 class are high school juniors this fall. Others are seniors and two or more were high school graduates. “None have come and enrolled with us,” he said. “Some are going to major in engineering and various other things.”
This Air Force program is not about military or college recruitment, Saks said.
“It’s about addressing the national crisis, and that’s what I like about these universities,” she said.
Cadets are chosen from the 125,000 Junior ROTC cadets in the nation and overseas, Saks said, and this year, the program was opened up to Civil Air Patrol and ROTC college students.
To fill the 2019 class, the Air Force received 1,400 applications, and selected 150 cadets. They were chosen based on the AQT (Aviation Qualification Test), endorsements from ROTC and school counselors, aviation experiences, physical fitness and life experiences.
“Do they have leadership experiences or a job? What else do they have that makes them a well-rounded applicant?” Saks said.
Another goal of the program is to improve on diversity. The current aviation community is 6 percent female, 94 percent male, and 11 percent minority; 89 percent are white males, she said.
“The advantages of partnering with Junior ROTC is we currently are a diverse organization (58 percent female and 40 percent minority),” Saks said. “The goal is that our application mirrors this. …we currently don’t have to have weighted factors of diversity, because we have naturally diverse numbers.”
She likes what has occurred so far.
“Our return on investment is huge right now. There are a lot of pilots that we’ve put out there,” Saks said.
Of the graduating high school seniors this year, 20 have received Air Force Academy appointments, and 65 have snared ROTC scholarship offers. “They are really sharp, high-level cadets,” she said.
The Air Force just opened the application process for the 2020 flight academy, Saks said, and selections will be made after the New Year.
The above story was republished with permission from the Salina Airport Authority.
