As the Covid-19 pandemic persists, and students return to campuses across the United States, there has not been a significant decline in the number of students enrolled in pilot-degree programs, according to a survey of aviation educators. Nearly 90% of schools report “little or no change.”
Only one school reported more than 15% cancellations or degree changes. About one-quarter indicated a “melt” of 5-15% in students committed to attending (though up from 10% a month ago). One-third are seeing less than 5% change, and 26.47% indicated all enrolled students plan to attend.
Surprisingly, in the wake of the devastation in the airline industry, nearly 40% of the universities will have a higher number of students than started a year ago. Only 15% expect a lower number, and 36.4% are level with 2019.
Ken Byrnes, Chair of the Flight Training Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), who moderates the ad-hoc national group’s periodic Zoom discussions, cautioned, “As the airline industry slows, interest can start to wane,” but he reminded that the process of becoming an airline pilot “is a four- to five-year journey, and the industry is going to need a significant amount of pilots in the near future.”
CAE USA Mission Solutions Inc. has been awarded an Other Transactional Authority contract by United States Special Operations Command to aid the Special Operations Forces Global Situational Awareness initiative.
VirTra Inc. has been awarded a $1.9 million contract in support of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Airman Decision Making and Interface Research program.
This year’s Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference awarded “Best Paper” honors to the teams from Clay Strategic Designs and Qneuro for their work on the use of neurotechnology to enhance and improve military training.
MetaVR’s Virtual Reality Scene Generator forms part of a new Piper Malibu M350 flight simulator delivered to the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute by ZedaSoft.