January 17, 2006

SIUC to offer two sessions of popular aviation camp

by Tara Livesay

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Department of Aviation Management and Flight at Southern Illinois University Carbondale again will host Summer Wings, a weeklong aviation camp designed to give interested high school students an opportunity to experience first hand the thrill of flight.

Summer Wings offers students the chance to explore a career as a pilot by providing ground and flight training similar to the training that SIUC flight students undergo. Participants will attend ground school classes, fly University flight training devices and aircraft (weather permitting), and enjoy evening activities on campus, such as swimming, basketball, volleyball, exercise room, bowling, billiards and a video game room. Organized social activities are planned and all campers are supervised by camp staff on a 24-hour basis.

Participants will spend a week at the Southern Illinois Airport learning the basics of flight including history, aerodynamics, aircraft performance, weight and balance, aviation weather reports, preflight aircraft inspection and radio procedures.

All flights will be conducted under the strict supervision of the Department of Aviation Management and Flight faculty members. Full- and part-time instructors regularly employed by the University will staff the Summer Wings program. The commuter fee includes four lunches (Monday-Thursday), souvenir polo shirt, camper insurance which covers emergency medical benefits and all flight instruction. Included in the resident fee are all the above and supervised evening activities, all meals (Sunday dinner-Friday breakfast), and five nights lodging in University residence halls, which are air-conditioned.

This camp is limited to eight students per session. Students must be completing their freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school. Applications will be accepted on a first-come basis and there is a $100 non-refundable deposit required with each registration.

Session I of Summer Wings is set for June 18-23. Session II is scheduled June 25-30.

For more information or to register, contact the Division of Continuing Education at 618/536-7751 or visit the Web site at www.dce.siu.edu.

Offering education and training activities for a variety of pre-adult-age groups is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University if following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.