My Impressions

(Mid-Semester: Fall ’01)

 

             Florida Tech is a great school.  So far, the semester has been nothing less than interesting. 

 

Here is what’s happening Academically…

             My major is Aviation Management (with flight).  The degree is very similar to a business administration degree; with the exception that it is focused on the aviation industry.  My degree sheet included flight electives that work toward the certificates and ratings required to become and airline pilot. 

             This semester I am taking Aero3, the commercial ground course.   It is required as part of the flight program, and concludes with the FAA written exam for the Commercial Certificate (letting you fly for money).  I'm taking three business courses:  Management Principles, Business Law, and Business Statistics.  They are all interesting and I'm learning a lot.  I am also taking Intro to Human Factors.  The class is very interesting.  It is focuses on the human machine interface, with applications in aviation that include cockpit design, displays, and situational awareness.  If I couldn’t become a pilot for one reason or another, this is probably what I would like to do for a living.  There are jobs in the field with the NTSB and FAA.  I'm considering graduate work in the field if I am to stay at Florida Tech for extra flight training.  It all depends on the $$ though. 

             Of course, I am also flying.  That’s the point of being at school, right?  It’s been great.  With the exception of being ground the three weeks after Sept. 11, the semester has been great.  My primary instructor, Rob is out on leave due to knee surgery, so I'm flying with Chris, my new instructor.  He is very knowledgeable and I like his teaching method a lot.  We got through two stages of flight three, a VFR-XC stage, and a Night-XC stage.  I'm due for two stage checks to finish the flight course for this semester.  I will be finishing the Commercial next semester in Flight 4. 

            

And life otherwise? …

Well this IS Florida.  So it is relaxing in many ways.  Although there is lots of work to do, it’s less stressful here for some reason; possibly because school is my number one priority.  There is not much to do in Melbourne, but we always find something fun.  I’ve met many interesting people and I fell into a great circle of friends.