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“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who looked
enviously on the birds soaring freely through space.”
~ Wilbur Wright, Aviator
Are your youth looking for something adventurous to do this summer? If so, Northern Oklahoma Flight Academy (NOFA) may be the perfect fit for them this June when it hosts its 21st Academy for middle school and high school students.
Bert Blanton, who along with serving as President of the Ponca City Aviation Foundation and Director of the Booster Club, is the overall Coordinator for the Academy. Blanton says, “I appreciate seeing students grow and meet challenges as they move through the classes.”
Blanton coordinates the high school classes and Tamara Bucher, who handles Marketing and Public Relations for the Booster Club and serves as President for the local chapter of Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) which restores antique and replica aircraft and supports pleasure and training aircraft, coordinates classes for middle school students of the Academy. Bucher stresses, “The nice thing about our Flight Academy is it’s not very expensive compared to others.” The Academy here in Ponca City is less expensive than many around the country and still offers as much or more than others.
Bucher, a pilot herself who also teaches classes at the Academy, says, “We start off with these kids in middle school and fly gliders outside. They learn to troubleshoot when the gliders end up on roofs or don’t fly where they planned. We see them grow as they move from our first classes on to the next.”
In talking about the classes with both individuals, we discuss how classes look at careers involving aviation; building and flying of kites, model rockets, airplanes and hovercraft; flying computer flight and spacecraft simulators; flying radio-controlled models and drones; mechanics; and even log flying lessons. The flight simulators are remarkable, and students are always surprised by their capabilities. The advanced class works with space flight too, and Blanton says, “We land on the moon!”
Besides all the planning, the Academy takes money to keep this cost down. There are grants that assist with this and events that help raise those funds. The Booster Club works in conjunction with the PC Aviation Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that can raise funds and receive donations to assist the Flight Academy. It is managed by an 11-member board and sponsors the monthly fly-in breakfasts and NOFA.
The Fly-in/Drive-in Breakfasts are held on the first Saturday of each month from 7-10:30 a.m., and the meal selection is excellent costing only $10 a person and $5 for children. Bruce Eberle is the breakfast coordinator and around 25 volunteers assist him in keeping the morning running smoothly for those attending. Service is good, and the conversation is lively. It’s also a great opportunity to see past photographs of the airport and the equipment used at the Flight Academy.
Anyone interested in aviation or supportive of these activities can join the Booster Club. They meet on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. and generally have a speaker and dinner. There is a form to complete and dues to pay, but you can pick it up at the meeting, if interested. For more information, you can check out their page on Facebook, Ponca City Aviation Booster Club or contact club president Don Nuzum at [email protected].
If interested in the Flight Academy, you can find information and forms for it on the Booster Club site, the Northern Oklahoma Flight Academy FB page or by picking up forms inside the Ponca City Regional Airport building. Enrollment closes on March 15, or when each class is full, so you want to register now if you are interested in a spot.
There are beginning classes for middle school students, such as Basic Aviation I and II, and then Advanced Aviation Technology. These are followed with a variety of options for later or experienced middle school and high school students, such as Drone Pilot Training, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Space Flight Technology and Airplane Pilot Training. The last session is Airplane Flying Lessons. Last year there were eight students ready for actual flying lessons.
Many students come to more than one session and then return the next summer. In addition, former students who have gone through the program are often hired to work as aides later summers, telling the instructors how much more they then learn as they teach the students taking classes. It’s amazing to hear about these former students and the pride the Academy instructors have in their achievements. One aide comes back, bringing her own tool set and repairs all of the model crafts the students fly (and wreck) during the weeks, saving them major funds; one is now a military and life flight helicopter mechanic; a couple were recently in the Air Force Academy with one then serving as an Air Force pilot and the other earning her Ph.D. A recent aide, who they’ll miss this summer, just found out he received a NASA internship after being at the University of Alabama. The achievements are many, and these students began parts of their desired careers at our local Flight Academy.
Coordinator Blanton knows just how important internships can be since his first was with NASA at only 17 years old when he was first sent to Wallops Island, Virginia, with a radar van to assist with testing data. From there he was sent to Fort Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, for rocket research testing in the upper atmosphere within the Northern Lights. His work was so exceptional, with him often getting readings on his van equipment while those in the buildings didn’t get readings on theirs, that they offered him a job in Australia, but it was time for him to return to his college studies. His scholarship alternated semesters of study with field work.
Blanton understands the importance of an early start moving toward your passions. He began his flying with lessons by helping the man who did the work spraying the fields on their family farm. Much like Blanton seems to feel, Amelia Earhart said, “There’s more to life than being a passenger.” Blanton wanted to move toward the pilot’s seat, and now he and others at the Academy help youth do the same.
The stories from their lives and the years they’ve worked at the Academy are many. Blanton says, “If you don’t have stories, you haven’t done anything.” You really should sit and just listen to his stories sometime. He says his friends and family have told him he should write them down but he’s too busy. I believe it. He’s far too busy still living new stories to write down the older ones.
There’s a wooden sign posted inside Building 15 where the Flight Academy is held. It says, “A Mile of Road Will Take You Nowhere, A Mile of Runway Will Take You Anywhere.” If you’d like Blanton, Bucher, Jane and the other instructors to help your youth take off for their Anywhere, you might want to get that registration in, if you haven’t already. As I’m writing this, I’ve already heard of registrations not just locally but from as far away as South Dakota. They come from near and far to take advantage of the opportunities this experience offers. Let’s be sure we fill the seats!
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