AOPA’s High School Aviation Curriculum: An In-Depth Review

By Hayden White

I have just finished my Freshman year of High School, and it was awesome. A huge part of my year was the AOPA Aviation Course. I have been a student pilot for a few years now; my Dad and Grandpa are both CFI’s. We have a 1958 J-35 Bonanza and a 1947 J-3 Piper Cub that has been in the family for just over 50 years now. Not only this, but I aspire to be a Commercial Pilot for one of the major airlines someday. Now, I may be biased towards this course because of my background in aviation, but my background also allows me to be more critical towards the course as I like to think I know a lot about airplanes. Anyway, here is my in-depth review and experience of the AOPA’s High School Aviation Curriculum.

This year, AOPA released a curriculum for some chosen high schools across the United States. I have had the privilege of attending one of those schools. In fact, it is why I chose to attend that school. St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School opened in Lee’s Summit, Missouri this past fall for its first year of classes. Not only do they offer aviation classes, they also have an outline of recommended courses for people interested in the aviation industry. St. Michael’s is the only Private Catholic school in the nation with this curriculum, which is why Carly Cook, a Sophomore, says that “Every day is an opportunity.”

The AOPA curriculum provides teachers with many resources, including many PowerPoints. These presentations include all the information that you need to know in order to pass the tests, as well as the class. At St. Michael’s (and maybe other schools), only the first year of the four-year curriculum was offered. This is a yearlong class covering both semesters. The first semester was mostly the history of aviation. Not just the Wright Brothers, but also Leonardo da Vinci, and numerous people that flew gliders prior to the Wright Brothers making the first powered flight.

Other topics covered included World Wars I and II and the advancements made in aviation during that time period, the creation of the jet engine, and advancements made in navigating the skies.

The second semester was all about current issues, or topics that are being discussed in the aviation Industry. A big topic was drones and autonomous flight. We discussed drones in the military, personal drones and the restrictions on them, as well as how you can become a drone pilot. After discussing benefits of the drones, we talked about the challenges of integrating drones into the national airspace system.

Another big topic in this curriculum was Electric Aircraft. With all the electric cars driving around, you would think we could expect fully electric aircraft

anytime, right? In this year’s aviation class, we learned that public transportation on electric aircraft may not be as close as you think. The batteries do not last long enough to carry an airplane of two passengers for more than a couple hours max, let alone an airplane with 150 passengers for several hours.

Other topics in this unit included colonization of Mars and challenges we are facing with spacecraft, supersonic aircraft (particularly focusing on the Concorde), and aviation’s environmental footprint. The environmental footprint was specifically interesting because we thought the aviation industry would account for a large amount of the worlds pollution, but it actually only accounts for two-percent of it. And, seventy percent of that two percent is carbon dioxide, the other thirty percent is mostly water.

This class, was not just about the curriculum. It was also about the experience. We managed to go on two field trips throughout the year and everybody enjoyed them. These included the Air Traffic Control Center located in Olathe, Kansas, and Burns & McDonnell’s World Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Aaron Davis said that the Burns & McDonnell World HQ was his favorite because he got to see “All the things they do”. At the Air Traffic Control Center we learned about the education required to become a controller as well as the training required. We also met with a meteorologist that works there as well. At the Burns & McDonnell World HQ, we heard from several engineers and what they do in the aviation industry. This ranged from using drones to inspect buildings on a daily basis, to constructing hangars and airports. Several of these engineers that we heard from were also involved in creating potential plans for the new Kansas City International Airport.

In this class, we also conducted a number of experiments and projects. Our very first project was constructing a hot air balloon out of a material similar to tissue paper. The AOPA curriculum provided us with the packet of instructions; we chose our groups and went to work. Our instructor was more than happy to help us whenever we needed it.

Another project we worked on, during the last few weeks of school was called ‘Space Condo’. Basically, what we had to do was create an airtight container that would keep a peep from expanding in a vacuum chamber. In this project, we were specifically told to use the engineering design process that had the steps of identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, choosing a solution, constructing a prototype, testing a prototype, refining the design, and sharing your solution with others.

When it comes to our instructor, we definitely had one of the best. Howard Schneeberger was a pilot for Trans World Airlines for 32 years after attending Air Force ROTC at the University of Notre Dame and receiving a commission as an officer in the Air Force. Mr. Schneeberger has shared with us his many experiences as a pilot, as well as an Air Force Pilot. All of the students in my class had good feedback about him. Carly Cook, a sophomore, says that “With the guidance and leadership of a profound Instructor, we have been given a chance to make a difference”. Another student, Christopher Rizzi, also a sophomore, says that he is “Inspired by him on a day to day basis and looks forward to having him as a teacher again next year”. As for me, I think that not only does Mr. Schneeberger have a great deal of experience, but he is also more than willing to share those memories. He has told us about many things ranging from near mid-air collisions in the Air Force, to subordinate pilots at the airlines.

Several students wanted to give more input about what they thought and liked. Audrey Maglich says that she had “No intention of joining” until her dad “Signed her up”. However, she also says that she has no regrets about attending the classes and really enjoyed applying the classroom knowledge into the projects. Carly Cook told me that she really enjoyed several of the activities, including flying drones in the gym and making pressurized capsules for marshmallow Peeps. Christopher Rizzi mentioned our project on air foils, saying that he “Enjoyed making the wind tunnel from everyday materials and then testing homemade air foils”. Aaron Davis says that his favorite PowerPoint was about sonic speed and space travel and that he would “highly recommend this class if you have any sort of interest in aviation”. Most everybody in our class said that they were excited for the class and they had high expectations. Not only that, but they also said their expectations were more than met.

The Principal of St. Michael the Archangel High School, Jodie Maddox, has been very excited to have the aviation program at the school. She says that the school is “Committed to creating an environment rich in discovery and discernment. Having an aviation program that explores different elements of science, math, and technology opens a world of possibilities for all of our students”. Mrs. Maddox also says that “As we grow along with our program, it will be exciting to see what other opportunities develop because of this one STEM initiative.” Mrs. Maddox has been very supportive of the AOPA aviation program over the course of the year and can’t wait to see where it leads all of the students.

So, what do we all think about this course? We think very highly of it. Although it is a brand-new program, it seems to have been planned very precisely and with the student in mind. While some people enjoy the PowerPoints, I do not prefer them. However, I understand why they make the presentations available. It is most likely so that students can see images and other resources relating to what their instructor is referring to and it is great for taking notes because you don’t have to ask the teacher to repeat everything. Our school uses a website called Google Classroom, so Mr. Schneeberger was able to post the presentations on the website, so that we could use them to study for the quizzes and exams. I think that Carly said it best; “Every day is an opportunity.” I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. The AOPA curriculum is constantly mentioning the pilot shortage and how much the aviation industry needs pilots, as well as aircraft mechanics, engineers, or whatever it may be. Furthermore, not only do they mention what we need now, but also in the future, 10 years from now, even 25 years from now. During the unit on drones, the curriculum gave many examples of what careers used drones. There were so many. As we learned at Burns & McDonnell, engineers use drones all the time to identify problems, solutions, and anything in-between. The other students in my class and I have said numerous times that we have no regret taking this course and I am sure that anyone else who takes this class will feel exactly the same way.