Pilots

More George Mason students set to earn wings

Nathan Kahl — Fri, 31 May 2024 13:05:00 +0000

More George Mason students set to earn wings Nathan Kahl Fri, 05/31/2024 - 09:05

In This Story

Earn your pilot's license

“There was and remains an airline pilot shortage. This program was designed to enhance the pipeline of licensed pilots to address this.” Lance Sherry, associate professor Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Matt Conroe is close to attaining a lofty lifelong goal: becoming a licensed pilot. For this recent George Mason University graduate in mechanical engineering, however, something else was pressing this spring, and that wasn’t just getting his ducks in a row to graduate or preparing the final steps for his license. His son Kian was born in April, just nine days before he took part in Commencement.

Conroe graduated with a minor in Aviation Flight Training and Management. “When I was a kid, I was thinking of firefighter, policeman, doctor. But my dad is in the Air Force and has served for 36 years and I thought, ‘I’d like to be a pilot.’”

And will this new dad be grounded by family responsibilities before having the chance to explore the friendly skies? “My wife might have been scared in the beginning,” he said, “but they train you so much that by the time you do your solo flight, you know what to do.”

Conroe with a Cessna 172M Skyhawk. (Courtesy photo)

The minor combines a pilot’s license with aviation management experience, giving students a significant advantage in seeking work with airlines, airports, and in air traffic control.

Business major Hamza Al Tell, who is also just a few steps from obtaining his license, plans to use his experience directly with his family business. Growing up in Jordan, Al Tell’s family ran a skydiving company, and he earned a love of flying at an early age. “I was young, but the captain would let me go up and control the plane a little bit,” he said.

Al Tell loved that he could combine his core degree with his passion. “I was scrolling through minors and saw this one and it was perfect for me. I could do my university studies alongside getting my pilot’s license.”

Lance Sherry, a professor in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department, oversees the program. He has more than 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, serving as a flight test engineer, flight control engineer, and system engineer.

Al Tell grew up riding in planes. (Courtesy photo)

"The minor is unique,” he said. “Whether a student is seeking to become an airline or business jet pilot, or to work for an airport, or as an air traffic controller, the program provides a strong foundation of knowledge and skills to be employable anywhere in the industry. The program’s relevance is evident in the career success of our graduates who are shaping a safer, more climate-friendly, socially just air transport system."

Sherry has over 30 years of industry experience. (Creative Services)

The program is ranked 20th in the world, 11th in the United States, and first in the Washington, D.C. region. It began 10 years ago when the university recognized the significant demand for aviation programs in general and flight training specifically.

Sherry said, “There was and remains an airline pilot shortage. This program was designed to enhance the pipeline of licensed pilots to address this.”

“Professor Lance was a great help in all of this," Al Tell said. "When I would see him on the schedule, I would get very excited. Based on his personal experience, he shared with us how the industry works behind the scenes. This was incredible fascinating.”

Conroe added, “I had good professors and I felt like they really cared. They were very professional and knew what they were talking about. You can tell when someone comes in and is really excited.”

“We’ve been nothing but impressed with the caliber and dedication of students who train with us,” said flight instructor Kyle McDaniel, BS Public Administration '10. “As a Mason alum myself, I’m thrilled to share my love of aviation with my alma mater.”

Topics

Aviation

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

mechanical engineering

Pilots

aeronautics

Students

Flying planes and landing jobs: Mason aviation program takes off

dallen21 — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 21:38:51 +0000

Flying planes and landing jobs: Mason aviation program takes off dallen21 Tue, 08/12/2014 - 17:38

As the son of two State Department employees, Sean Graham grew up around the world―in India, Ghana, West Africa, the Philippines, and the United States. After such a globe-trotting upbringing, who could blame him for wanting to learn to fly a plane?

Graham is doing just that as one of the first students to emerge from George Mason University's aviation flight training and management minor, based in the Volgenau School of Engineering.

Mason alum Sean Graham with Cessna 172M at Manassas Regional Airport. Photo courtesy of Creative Services.

George Mason students are flying aircraft and earning private pilot licenses from the Federal Aviation Administration, while at the same time gaining experience on the ground and in the classroom that will help them land jobs of consequence in the air transportation industry.

There is a growing demand for aviation professionals who can more efficiently design, operate, and manage the world's airports, airlines, and air traffic control systems.

"I want to fly myself, you know?" Graham, a conflict analysis and resolution major, says with a laugh one afternoon before hopping into the cockpit of a Cessna 172M at Manassas Regional Airport for a quick jaunt to Charlottesville, Va. "I've been on too many commercial flights. You can rent a plane like you can rent a car. Easy transportation."

The value of the 15-credit-hour Mason program, with its combination of flight training and management courses, soars far beyond the cool factor. While other colleges and universities have dropped aviation programs in recent years, and flight schools closed their doors, Mason could foresee job opportunities in the industry.

The demand for air travel is increasing, particularly in China, India, and Africa. Existing pilots are retiring faster than new pilots are entering the profession because there are fewer military-trained pilots to take those jobs and fewer flight schools to train new pilots. And there are few universities that offer an aviation program, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region.

"Those three criteria make this a perfect match for George Mason," says Lance Sherry, an associate professor in Systems Engineering and Operations Research and director of the university's Center for Air Transportation Systems Research. "Students coming out of this program will have a big competitive advantage when they apply for an airline or other transportation job."

Through the Mason program, in conjunction with award-winning flight school Aviation Adventures, students can earn their private pilot's license and decide if they want to train to become commercial pilots. For the minor, flight training hours are flexible to meet students' school and work schedules. Manassas Regional Airport, the facility that Graham and others fly out of, is four miles from Mason's Prince William Campus. There also are regional airports in Warrenton, Leesburg, and Fredericksburg, Va.

The first pilot to come through the Mason program was Harry Newton, a continuing education student and Air Force retiree majoring in applied information technology. Graham will be the second, and Adil Altaf, a biology major, the third. A new student cohort starts this fall.

As a Joint Fires Observer in the Army, Graham was accustomed to working with airplanes. His job, among other duties, was to request, control and adjust surface-to-surface fires such as artillery, mortars, and naval surface gunfire. But learning to fly in the military requires a lengthy time commitment. At Mason, ranked the top school in Virginia for veterans, he could learn to fly courtesy of the GI Bill by enrolling in the aviation minor program.

"It's a fantastic opportunity," says Graham, who in addition to being a Mason student works for a company that preserves foreclosed homes. "It's an ability to learn a whole new skill set. It opens your eyes up to a whole new world. There's a lot of career potential in it, and it's a fun hobby. I'd recommend it to anybody."

Conor Dancy, BS Geology '13, founded a Mason aviation club when he was an undergraduate. His involvement at Mason and at Aviation Adventures helped lay the groundwork for the new minor, and Bob Hepp, the owner of Aviation Adventures, played a key role, working out the details of the program with Mason officials.

Dancy is now the chief flight instructor at Leesburg Executive Airport. In 2013, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association named him the national flight instructor of the year.

Soon, more Mason graduates will be settling into the pilot seat, or operating an Air Traffic Control Command Center, or designing the airport of the future. It's runway as a career path.

"No question that this is a very in-demand job, and the education students get from the Mason program gives them a great foundation for their career," Sherry says. "You look at the demographics and the geography and see this opportunity to serve the regional community with high-quality flight training. We think we're in the right place at the right time."

A version of this story by Preston Williams appeared in Mason News on August 12, 2014.