Prescott students are first to fly in new, hi-tech helicopter flight simulators
Fifteen Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy students participated in helicopter flight ground school instruction at Guidance Aviation of Prescott, Arizona, learning what it is like to become a professional helicopter pilot. During the ground school instruction, the students learned about general helicopter aerodynamics and pre-flighting the aircraft in addition to taking the controls of Guidance Aviation’s newest, state of the art helicopter flight simulators. The visit also included a lunch break during which students held discussions with Guidance Aviation flight instructors about careers and students experiences in helicopter aviation.
“Flight has taught me that there are no limits to our innovation. It has shown me that we should always keep our eyes to the sky, because you should never believe someone when they tell you you can’t,” says Laura Cummings, Student, Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy.
“One of my favorite things about teaching at Northpoint is taking students out into the field to speak to experts about whatever our current topic is. I’m always impressed with the questions that the students come up with and the connections that they make. They are able to see and learn about content and career opportunities that they never even knew existed. These experiences, like the one here today at Guidance Aviation, are what help students see how their education connects to the real world,” remarks Amy Dolan, Teacher, Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy.
“This is a great time for the Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy students to be visiting Guidance Aviation,” states David Roy, Director of Flight Operations. “We have just completed developing seven proprietary, state of the art helicopter flight simulators and the Northpoint students are some of the first students to fly them. The students love this technology and we’re happy to share it with them while also sharing information on careers in helicopter aviation and aerospace.”
Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy presents a full spectrum of high school courses through challenging hands-on projects known as learning expeditions. Students engage in intensive studies utilizing a compelling topic or theme, such as water quality, the civil rights movement or the industrial revolution. Teachers collaborate to design learning expeditions that align with Arizona Standards, emphasizing high achievement through active learning, character growth and teamwork. This innovative and research-based approach to teaching and learning has been shown to motivate students to learn more in depth, work harder and accomplish more than they thought they could do.
Guidance Aviation is a helicopter flight training organization with locations in Prescott, Arizona and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2013, Guidance Aviation help launch Think Global Flight, an around the world flight to promote S.T.E.M. education and the promises of aviation and aerospace.
