SNYDER COUNTY, Pa. — A lot of work goes into flying planes; even small airports like Penn Valley near Selinsgrove can get pretty busy. Some kids are learning all about that this week at Aviation Camp.
"How they work and how to fly on cold and hot days, how the engines work. We learned about the difference between the piston and the jet engines," Connor Leitzel said.
The camp is being offered by Susquehanna STEM to the Skies, a nonprofit that promotes careers in aviation.
"Pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers, airport managers—there are hundreds of thousands of jobs available," said Victor Vogel, president of Susquehanna STEM to the Skies.
The camp is meant to introduce students to jobs in the aviation field and also remind them they will need STEM skills—science, technology, engineering, and math—no matter what they choose to do.
"I think it would be fun to be a pilot. I wouldn't want to fly for a commercial airline, just to have my own plane and fly," Walker High said.
Throughout the week, students learn about airplanes, medical aviation, and maintenance. And they do hands-on activities.
"They gave us a remote-control plane that we could learn to fly. The second day, we got sterling engine cars, which taught us about the different pressures on hot and cold days," Leitzel said.
"We talk about all those things and show the students those things and try to pique their interest in ways they may have never thought about or never heard about before," Vogel said.
The students also spent one hour in a full-motion simulator used to train pilots.