CityView Magazine

10 September 2023 COVER STORY T he kids are at the controls. And the adults don't mind one bit. On a recent Monday, it would have seemed like business as usual for most people near Fayetteville Regional Airport as pilots were liing off or landing small aircra on the runways. But if they could have had a better look inside the cockpit once the plane reached a certain altitude, they would have seen something unusual. Schoolkids ranging in age from 9 to 17 were actually at the control panel, and they were flying the plane. Not just observing but flying the plane as part of the Aviation Career Education Academy, a second-year summer program hosted by Fayetteville Regional. e ACE Academy is for students who are interested in aviation and aerospace careers. e two-day program was held Aug. 7-8 on the airport campus and was attended by 41 students from Cumberland County Schools, according to Airport Director Toney Coleman. All 41 — 21 on the first day, 20 on the second — got their turns in the cockpit, Coleman says. A 'cool' experience "It's really cool," says Micah Lopez-Andujar, a 16-year-old at E.E. Smith High School. "at's the only word I can describe it with. It was my first time in the cockpit. "To me, it was easier than driving a car. I didn't get the same nervousness I do when I get behind the steering wheel of a car, get in the driver's seat of a car." Dreams take flight Fayetteville Regional Airport's ACE Academy gives students an early look at a pathway to aviation careers while encouraging them to let their ambitions soar. BY GARY MANGUM | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN Students and instructors take flight as part of the Aviation Career Education Academy at Fayetteville Regional Airport.

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