Fortunately, Pancake-Flat State Is Next Door To Rocky Mountains

Summer was an "elevating" experience for aviation students at Kansas State University at Salina. Troy Brockway, associate professor of aviation at K-State at Salina, took a group of aviation students west this summer to fly high in the Rockies.

It's the ninth year Brockway has conducted a class on mountain flying. The class begins with one day of ground school, followed by four days of flying in Colorado. Class members fly to Gunnison, Leadville, Telluride, Aspen, Vail and Paonia.

"My favorite part of the class was going to the really cool airports," said Mitchell Wagner, a professional pilot major from Keller, TX. "I'm talking Leadville, the highest elevation non-military airport in US; Aspen, famous for its challenging approach; Telluride, known for its awesome scenery on approach; and our home base, Gunnison."

During the Colorado flights, the students learned how to contend with reduced aircraft performance caused by high-density altitudes; the physiological effects of high altitudes; cross-country flight planning in the mountains; negotiating mountain weather; and operations at some unique airports... all of which offered challenges not often seen flying across Kansas, with its endless flat fields.

"Flying in the mountains is not necessarily harder," Wagner said. "The hazards are not knowing what to expect or how to deal with the degraded performance."

K-State has a fleet of 50 learning aircraft and more Master Certified Flight Instructors than any other college or university in the country. Located on the K-State at Salina campus, the fastest growing college within K-State offers a well-rounded Big 12 university experience shared by 1,000 students in a high tech campus environment.

K-State at Salina awards degrees in technology management, engineering technology, aircraft maintenance, and offers an affordable professional pilot education. K-State Aviation graduates, with an outstanding 98% placement rate, are highly sought after by the world's aerospace industry.

FMI: www.sal.ksu.edu/