Students Will Have Chance To Work, Live In Europe

Here's a neat way for college students to get a taste of what it's like to work in aviation... as well as what it's like to work and live overseas. The Experimental Aircraft Association has partnered with Europe's EADS Socata to offer an internship opportunity for two college juniors -- one male, one female -- next summer.

Those chosen will visit France for a five-week internship, where they will work at an EADS Socata facility and be exposed to a variety of aviation disciplines.

They'll also be able to visit the EADS Socata factory in Tarbe, France, where the TBM 850 turboprop (shown below) is built... as well as the Airbus final assembly plant in Toulouse, and the Ariane rocket integration facility outside Paris.

"I hope that this will be part of a process to reinforce transatlantic ties between American and Europe's aviation communities," said EADS Socata Chairman and CEO Stéphane Mayer. "The students who visit us will be able to see with their own eyes that aviation has only one universal language, and that is the shared "passion for flight."

The students will stay with local families during their time in France... and get a taste of what it's like to live in Europe.

When they return to the states, the two recipients will visit EAA AirVenture 2007 in Oshkosh, where they'll attend a weeklong session of the EAA Advanced Air Academy.

One thing is certain: it won't be a vacation... but it will be an experience that should serve the interns well in their future endeavours.

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.socata.eads.net