North Augusta High School students taught aviation class

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Over in North Augusta, high school students are learning about aviation thanks to a career path class.

We caught up with the flight instructor about what is taught in class.

Travis Spears’ students have been learning to fly.

“If we can introduce students to aviation early on, they can see, okay this is a viable career path that I can start getting trained on in high school,” says Spears.

That training has only happened in the classroom until now.

“We’ll actually come out to the airport, and we’ll look at instead of just a theory and video stuff, actually how these planes work,” he says.

His new advanced-level class will take field trips. Students will look at a real plane and see if it’s ready to fly.

“Is it safe to make this flight? Well, there’s a lot of information you need to gather to make that decision effectively” says Spears.

Spears is a pilot himself and since his plane is safe to fly, he figured he might as well take it up.

“A lot of times I just want to go for a flight, I may not go anywhere but around Augusta, but it’s still fun,” he says.

We went all over the area, the lake, over our station, and his workplace.

He even let us take control for a little bit.

“You kept it straight, you kept us level, so as for the first time having the controls, you did really well,” he says.

He thinks flying is the greatest thing ever.

As he gets ready for a new year, he’s excited to show his class why.

Students won’t get to fly a real plane, but they can learn on a simulator.

Spears says there are still a few spots available in his aviation class at North Augusta High School.

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