How To Create a Passion for Aviation
How to inspire a passion for aviation in your student.
I’ve had several clients ask me how to get their child more involved in aviation. At first pass, it can be daunting when a young person shows an interest in flying. Do I sign them up for an introductory flight at the local airport flight school? Well sure, that’s always a great place to start. But let’s take a look at some other ways to get in that flying spirit outside of actually putting metal in the air.
Museums
This is an amazing way to spark a real interest and passion for aviation. Depending on where you live, the barrier to entry could involve some travel and advance planning. Later on, I’ll discuss how to incorporate some fun and challenging pilot activities into this endeavor. But here I’ll list out some of my personal favorites.
Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. This is an amazing facility and is worthy of multiple visits. It’s possible to see and do it all in a single visit but I find it best to break it up into shorter, more manageable stints if that’s possible. If you are traveling and only have a day to spend no worries, you’ll have an amazing time. My personal favorites are the World War I and II exhibits. To really dig in and understand the scope of aviation’s role in these conflicts does take some time.
Try and prepare your student for this visit by doing some background research ahead of time. Depending on their age, reading a book about the pioneers of space or watching a movie like Apollo 13 might set the stage for your visit. For older students who have studied the history of conflicts in school, Unbroken is an excellent World War II movie. The book which inspired the movie by Laura Hillenbrand is a great way to dive deep into how aviation was used in the Pacific.
Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The Air Force has done this one right. One of the most impressive displays of aircraft assembled in one location. If you are planning a trip anywhere near Dayton, you have to set aside a day to come visit. Use a similar approach as the Boeing Museum to prepare your visit. Find an aspect of the Air Force that interests your student and dig in ahead of time. There are so many great books and movies to spark a flame of interest.
Every state seems to have some type of aviation museum or display. Check out this link to find one close to you or incorporate this into your next trip.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aviation_museums#United_States
Summer Camps
A summer aviation camp is an excellent way to expose your student to aviation. I’ll recommend a few here but slots can be hard to secure so make sure you find out when the registration opens and be online early!
https://www.eaa.org/eaa/youth/eaa-aviation-and-flight-summer-camps The Experimental Aircraft Association in Wisconsin has a number of amazing camps for a wide audience of students.
https://www.preflightcamp.com/ PreFlight Aviation Camp is an aviation and mentorship camp for girls with camps in Arizone, Colorado and Texas.
https://www.museumofflight.org/education/explore-programs/ace-camp is open to K-9th grade students located in Washington.
Service Academy Summer Session
If your student is interested in pursuing a career in military aviation, the service academies offer summer seminars. These are designed for rising seniors and each institution has their own application processes and windows.
https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Programs/NASS.php#fndtn-panel1-Steps-For Naval Academy Summer Session
https://www.academyadmissions.com/prepare/high-school/summer-seminar/ Air Force Academy Summer Session
https://www.westpoint.edu/admissions/summer-program Army Summer Session
Planespotting
This is a real thing I promise! Planespotting is as simple as driving to your nearest airport and finding a vantage point to watch aircraft takeoff and land. In some countries, you will find large groups of people gathered with photography gear and binoculars hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite aircraft.
One of my personal favorite groups is located in New Zealand and they are known as the Canterbury Plane Spotters. They primarily post on Facebook but I’ll post a link below for more information from the Christchurch Airport.
https://www.christchurchairport.co.nz/travellers/at-the-airport/chc-planespotters/
Make sure you stay off of restricted or prohibited areas around the airport and be good stewards of trash and leaving food as birds and aircraft engines don’t mesh well.
Flight Tracking Apps
A great way to inspire your student to become more involved in aviation is to track and identify who is flying over your house. There are several free (with paid options as well) apps that make this endeavor easy to do from anywhere.
https://www.flightradar24.com Flight Radar has mobile and desktop applications
https://www.flightaware.com/ Flight Aware is another option.
Fake it until you make it
If your student wants to act like a pilot without actually flying, this is a great way to get them in the role. The next time you are going out for a drive or trip, have your future pilot plan out the trip as a pilot would. If they love this type of approach then you might have a future aviator on your hands.
Get a weather brief. Have them research what the weather will be like leading up to and during your drive. Record the temperatures forecast, if there will be any hazards to driving like rain, winds, and fog. If you plan on making any stops, make sure you include these destinations as well.
Plan out your route on a map. Have them plug in directions ahead of time and assess the best route to take. Are there any road closures or construction? Is there an alternate route available? Make a spreadsheet if they are really into it and record turnpoints, distances and how long it will take on each leg of the route. Print out the directions like we did with MapQuest a million years ago.
Determine your fuel requirements. Have them calculate how many gallons of fuel will be required based on the vehicle you are operating. Then, have them convert this to pounds using a simple formula of 6 pounds for every gallon of fuel required. Make sure you add in a reserve of 20 miles and include any contingency fuel you might need for unplanned restroom or Chick-Fil-A stops. They can calculate the cost of the trip by looking up the current fuel prices.
Preflight your vehicle. Make sure the seatbelts work, clean out any trash, stock up with some water, gum and snacks. Have them walk around the vehicle and inspect for any defects or flaws.
Navigate the trip. Turn off your GPS function on the car and have your future pilot navigate off of their printed maps. Allow them to make a wrong turn here or there as this will only demonstrate the importance of following your plan and understanding where they are.
Complain about their school or teachers. Ok, I’m only slightly kidding here but pilots love to grind gears at cruise. 401k contributions, work-rest rules and crew hotels are typical hot topics. Bottom line, have fun during this process.
YouTube Content
I’m sure the last thing a parent wants to hear is to have their kid watch more YouTube. As much of a time drain that this platform enables, there’s some really good channels out there.
https://www.youtube.com/@MentourPilot has a great channel with great aviation content in a well-produced format.
https://www.youtube.com/@trevorwert is a photographer who captures amazing content in the Pacific Northwest.
https://www.youtube.com/@SamEckholm is a former Air Force Public Affairs with lots of great aviation related content.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to get your future aviator excited about flying. Let me know if you have other ways you’ve gotten interested in aviation.
Beyond The HUD?
Beyond The HUD…what does that even mean? We peel back the covers on the origin of the company’s name.
What does that even mean?
A phrase is born…
For a decade, the phrase “Beyond The HUD” has been a whisper of a thought in the white noise of my aviation consciousness.
During the early part of my career as a simulator instructor in the C-17 I observed a pilot struggling to get all the things on the things in order to pull off a successful short field landing. While this falls shy of providing you with a technical and nuanced explanation of an assault landing, you get the idea.
The student was utilizing a Heads Up Display (HUD). An amazing aircraft component designed to expand our situational awareness, promote engagement with what lies ahead and aggregate critical data for pilot consumption.
Sounds like a perfect application for any business platform, and definitely a must-have for any pilot shopping spree. Yes, the HUD has aviation super-powers but it also can prevent us from seeing the entire picture in front of us. It can cause us to fixate on a snapshot of the present moment. Beneficial in so many ways but not without drawbacks. For this student, my instruction was brief: “Look beyond the HUD.”
Upon closer inspection…
A simple and relatable suggestion to achieve the maximum return on instructor investment. It was at that moment I realized this phrase was going into my lexicon of great sayings. In order to make room I had to let a few dated but well-worn penguins slide off the iceberg.
“I know you are but what am I?” and “Up your nose with a rubber hose!” had been teetering for years. Time to make room gents. Big Lebowski lines were naturally not up for consideration. “Yeah, well, that’s just like, your opinion, man” will never be supplanted by a catchy instructional phrase.
Rejected takeoff…
My initial plan for Beyond The HUD was to write a book chronicling the development and employment of the C-17 using war stories, vignettes and anecdotes from my vast network of Moose pilot friends in the community.
Still a great idea but one that unfortunately never materialized. Fast forward a decade later.
Divert options…
The phrase is still in my mind and my life was approaching airspace with several possible sectors. I had just transitioned away from the most rewarding role in my Air Force career as the Chief Pilot of the 313th Airlift Squadron and was looking towards retirement in a few short years.
I knew I would miss mentoring, recruiting and hiring amazing pilots. “Look Beyond The HUD” I said to myself at a particularly low point of my day several months back.
The advice produced a solid radar return. I had been so focused on what was going on in my near vision that I wasn’t focusing on the flight path beyond the immediate data in my figurative HUD.
Check your radar tilt…
Out of the contrails of life’s uncertainty came Beyond The HUD. A consulting firm providing career vectors to future aviation professionals in today’s complex airspace.
We advise and mentor aspiring aviators through their decision tree of aviation pathways. Whether it’s advising a middle school student on the nuances of service academy preparation, guiding the high school senior through their academy or ROTC personal interview or prepping pilot candidates for the convoluted Air Force Reserve pilot hiring process, Beyond The HUD ensures our clients are on glide path and course.
My aircraft and radios…
This endeavor has pushed me into new airspace and areas of responsibilities. Riding alongside the excitement of starting something new is a copilot of fear and doubt.
As Capt Eddie Rickenbacker stated, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”
By looking past the jumble of data staring at me in the form of filings, slide decks, advertising, production and collateral, I can formulate strategy and courses of action for the long term (hopefully) success of the firm.
Sometimes you need to abide by the advice you give others…Look Beyond The HUD.