ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — It’s a quiet morning over the skies of Arkadelphia, but that’s about to change.
Soon planes will be off the ground and into the air. The most interesting part is that the pilots in the cockpit aren’t pilots at all, they’re actually students.
It's a program that Richard Wyman, Director of Aviation at Henderson State University, has seen grow over the years.
“The program has been around since the early 70s. There was one person in it and then a couple of people in it [in] 1973 or 74," Wyman said.
Most folks wouldn’t get in the passenger’s seat of a car with a teenager, much less a plane. But Wyman thinks this is the golden time for teens to get a handle on piloting.
“Best time to start flying. We guide them through the program and show them what courses to start taking. Give them options on how they want to do their track,” he said.
There are currently 81 students in the flight program at Henderson State. Students like Seth Baldwin, who is actually in his fourth year.
“Flying has always been a passion of mine. I remember going on planes as a little kid and honestly just loving it," Baldwin said. "Being able to go up to the cockpit and check it out and being welcomed by the pilots.”
Baldwin and his classmates must complete a thorough pre-flight check before ever getting in the air.
“You have an airspeed indicator, and you just make sure all these [tools] are functioning before you take off,” he said.
While the pre-flight checklist might take a little time, Baldwin mentioned that it's well worth it once you get into the sky.
“It’s just so peaceful when you get up there. It just relaxes you," he said. "They say 'if you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life.' I’ve tried to make that a key steppingstone in my life.”
This program doesn’t just provide dream jobs, it can provide an opportunity to break barriers for students likes sophomore Madelyn Garrett.
“I’m in the military so I want to fly helicopters in the military and do that in the national guard and then go to the airlines," Garrett said.
With all the good that the program brings, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some bumps along the way.
“Sometimes I cried in the car because I couldn’t land the plane,” Garrett said.
Despite that, Garrett and her fellow women classmates are proving the skies aren’t just a boys club.
“Flying in general as a [woman] I look out for those in general, so I take pride in it,” she said.
As for Director Wyman, he hopes the program continues to soar into the next generation of pilots.
“As far as I can see, it’s just going to continue to progress and that’s the way we like it,” Wyman said.