Colleges Embrace Aviation Home Field Advantage

For some, the most appealing and memorable spot on a college campus is the football stadium, where they tailgated and cheered on their team to victory. For others, it’s the lecture hall or library, where they met their significant other or decided what they wanted to pursue as a career.

For many pilots though, the most important place during those college years is the airport.

While there are many active collegiate aviation programs in the U.S., only a handful of students at these programs train at a university-owned airport. Just as there are tales about campus buildings’ storied pasts and purpose, diving into the history of these special airports is an interesting endeavor.

Here are four college aviation programs conducting student pilot training at their own airports. 

Purdue University

Purdue University was founded in 1869 in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Purdue University Airport (KLAF) opened 61 years later in 1930. The airfield has been an important training site for aviators since its early days, and the famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart was a faculty member at the school for several semesters.

The Lockheed Model 10 Electra that Earhart flew on her ill-fated mission around the world was purchased for her by the Purdue Research Foundation. Some other famous aviators with Purdue ties include Neil Armstrong, Gus Grissom, Iven Kincheloe Jr., Jerry Ross, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, and Heather Penney. 

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Adam Baxmeyer,  a Purdue alumnus, serves as the airport director. Baxmeyer notes that the airport’s storied past serves a strong foundation for its current-day importance as a general aviation facility that hosts a bevy of activity from an array of aircraft types.

“Our airport has a unique ethos centered on education, innovation, and transportation. The airport is often called the largest classroom on the West Lafayette campus,” said Baxmeyer, noting that this informal distinction goes back decades.

The university’s trainer fleet consists of 18 Piper Archers, four Piper Seminoles, and one Super Decathlon. Other frequent users of the airspace include United Airlines, being that there is a twice-daily flight to Chicago, as well as business, military, and cargo aircraft. The airport services about 200 charter flights per year for the Purdue University athletics department and its opponents. Corporate flights have become increasingly common, as the area is home to many major companies’ facilities, including Caterpillar, Subaru, GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce, SK Hynix, and Saab.

Purdue’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology offers four majors—aeronautical engineering technology, aviation management, professional flight, and unmanned aerial systems. Many students who are pursuing the three non-flying degrees still opt to pursue ratings, even though it is not a requirement to graduate. 

“We have two Part 141 schools based at the airport,” Baxmeyer said. “One is Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, for Purdue students pursuing a degree in professional flight. They fly university-owned aircraft. Anyone else interested in learning to fly can do so through Purdue Aviation, which is an independent FBO based here at the field. They have flight students from many different majors as well as individuals from the Greater Lafayette community.”

The towered airport has two runways, the longest of which is 6,600 feet long. The airport isn’t only the “largest classroom on campus” for flight students, as non-flying majors frequently use it in their coursework as well. For example, students in the airport management and airport operations programs witness airfield inspections firsthand, which includes examining the runways’ condition, the fuel farm, snow removal equipment, and emergency equipment. Students also hold positions both in airport operations, as well as at the FBO, flight school, and airline ground handling. 

Purdue’s other aviation facilities are robust. The Holleman-Niswonger Simulator Center houses a Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 flight training devices (FTDs), as well as a Hawker 900XP Level D full-motion simulator. There is an Operations Control Center, where students can watch and support program flight operations—of which there are more than 100 per day. There are also powerplant, electronics, materials, and advanced materials labs, which are used by aeronautical engineering technology students.

Purdue Aviation Day took place in April and drew more than 8,000 attendees to learn more about the airport and the university’s aviation programs. This annual event is Purdue’s largest that is student-run.

Ohio State University

Ohio State University in Columbus offers three aviation degree programs—a bachelor’s degree in aviation, a bachelor’s in air transportation, and a bachelor’s in aviation management. In total, there are about 500 students enrolled in aviation at Ohio State, 155 of whom are actively flying the university’s trainer aircraft. The program boasts 19 Cessna 172s and one Piper Seminole.

The degree offerings, fleet, and facilities have changed significantly over the past century. Aviation, though, has always been an integral part of the university’s identity.

“We started aviation here in 1917, and our first training class was for the U.S. Army Air Corps  program,” said Brian Strzempkowski, an Ohio State alumnus and an assistant professor and assistant director of the Center for Aviation Studies. “We are the only school left that still has an aviation program from that original group of 10 schools that started training
pilots for World War I. Our initial airport was centrally located on the main campus. Then the football stadium was built on that site, and we moved to the airport where we are now, which was built in 1942.” 

Ohio State University Airport (KOSU) serves as home to over 180 aircraft and three runways, with the longest being 5,004 feet long. It is a Class D facility with a control tower and varied traffic types, making for a distinctive training environment.

“One of the unique features of the airport is that, depending on the year, it is either the third or fourth-busiest airport in the state of Ohio,” Strzempkowski said. “KOSU and Cincinnati Lunken [KLUK] go back and forth [for third], with Cleveland and Columbus being bigger. We have about 80,000 operations per year here, and probably around 30 to 40 percent of those are for training. The nice part about training here is that our students get mixed in with business jets, helicopters, and different types of aircraft that aren’t generally present at most GA facilities.”

Another benefit of the airport being university-owned is that everyone working on-site is an Ohio State employee.

“If our planes need to go into the maintenance shop, we have a maintenance shop and are not scheduled as an outside
facility,” said Strzempkowski, noting that many of the airport jobs  are held by student employees. “If student aircraft need to get fuel, the university fuel truck is right there.” 

Strzempkowski pointed out that these opportunities present a great way for students to gain industry experience in a real environment and start an aviation career. Some of the roles include working at the FBO front desk or on the flight line or supporting the flight education program.

An integral part of the airport property is the Austin E. Knowlton Executive Terminal & Aviation Learning Center, which opened in 2019. Within the facility, there are three classrooms where ground schools are conducted for private, instrument, flight instructor, and commercial ratings. The terminal space is where the FBO is located, allowing students to conveniently network with pilots and aviation crewmembers. There are indoor and outdoor seating areas overlooking the airfield, including the NetJets Observation Deck. 

A highly anticipated annual event at the airport is the free community open house, which is tentatively scheduled for September. The airport is also the site for EAA Young Eagles flights throughout the year and hosts a Youth Aviation Adventure (YAA) educational outreach each spring and fall. 

Auburn University

Auburn University Regional Airport (KAUO) in Alabama may be one of the best airport investments of all time. James Birdsong, who serves as the director for Auburn’s School of Aviation, said that the university purchased the land where the airport now sits for $375 in 1939. The initial goal was to turn the previously privately owned airfield into a Civilian Pilot Training Program site.

About 1,100 pilots were trained there during World War II, and the flight training endeavor has since morphed into Auburn’s two aviation degree offerings—aviation management and professional flight. 

“We have just under 1,000 students, and about 600 are in the flight program,” said Birdsong. “About 90 percent to 95 percent of the flight students qualify for the FAA Restricted Airline Transport Pilot [R-ATP] certification and go to the airlines. A few will go corporate, and a handful will join the military, typically in the [National] Guard or Reserves.”

Birdsong said Auburn has a large fleet of modern, G1000-equipped aircraft. The school also sports 56 Cessna 172s and 11 Piper Seminoles. 

The capstone course for flight students takes advantage of the university’s Airbus A320 simulator located in the 23,000-square-foot Delta Air Lines Aviation Education Building. Opened in 2018, the facility houses a collection of other advanced aviation training devices (AATDs), as well as classroom facilities. The building’s eponym underscores the aviation program’s strong relationship with Delta, which has headquarters less than a two-hour drive from campus. The professional flight program has partnered with Delta through its Propel Pilot Career Path Program, which provides a clear pathway for the airline to hire students after graduation. Delta also has provided endowed professorships to attract and retain experienced faculty. 

Another important industry partnership seeks to support the growing need for aviation maintenance technicians. 

Southern Union State Community College’s A&P program opened a hangar this spring that’s located at the Delta Air Lines Aviation Education Building. This provides a convenient way for Auburn students interested in aviation maintenance to learn more and complete coursework on the field. 

Birdsong advised that with around 150,000 residents in the local area, Auburn is predominantly a college town but there is local industry, including a GE Aerospace manufacturing facility. He said the airport is an integral part of the community’s transportation needs and, due to the growing traffic, there is a mobile ATC tower that will be replaced by a permanent facility. The 109-foot-tall tower is expected to open later this year.

“There is a lot of corporate traffic [coming in here], so it can get really crowded sometimes,” he said. “We actually are the busiest airport in the state of Alabama some days with our traffic count. On game days there is a temporary flight restriction [TFR] that goes up for home [Auburn Tigers] football games because the airport is only 3 miles from the stadium. During SEC games we can get about 250 transient aircraft, and the airport closes the shorter of the two perpendicular runways to park small GA aircraft there and put large traffic on the main ramps. Football brings a lot of energy, and the airport is definitely a barometer for how well the season is going. It’s a really cool environment.”

Auburn’s aviation program hosts prospective student tours every Friday. These are typically well attended and help future pilots and aviation leaders see what makes the program a leader within the collegiate aviation training environment. The program is set to host the annual Auburn Business
Aviation Days showcase on September 23-24, as well as a Women in Aviation International (WAI) Girls in Aviation Day on October 3 at the airport. 

University of Oklahoma

Located about three and a half miles from the heart of campus in Norman, Oklahoma, Max Westheimer Airport (KOUN) is where all major-specific courses are taught for the University of Oklahoma’s five aviation degree offerings. The 720-acre site boasts two paved runways, a control tower, classrooms and simulator lab, as well as hangar space for the school’s 33 training aircraft. 

Eric Wydra, director of OU’s School of Aviation, said a student flight club was started in the late 1920s. That effort predated the university being gifted money by Westheimer, a pilot during WWI, that was used to purchase the land that turned into the airport. In 1942 the airport became home of Naval Air Station (NAS) Norman, which was used as a training site for pilots, mechanics, and other personnel. There have been 6,284 pilots to have graduated from NAS, according to the Norman World War II Museum, which is located on-site. OU’s aviation program was founded in 1947, and the airport has continually served as an important place for aviation education. 

“About four years ago, the university made a partnership with Norman Public Schools, and they are in the process of building an aviation high school here, which will be completed this fall,” Wydra said. “There will be a 10,000-square-foot building that includes four classrooms, office space, and a library for students [high school and college].”

Wydra said this project will more than double the current classroom footprint. Once constructed, the space will also be the site for future Sooner Flight Academy activities, including its summer camps. 

“The airport is growing right now, and they’re in the process of building a new $16 million control tower that should be done by the end of the year,” he said. “And we just received about $31 million from both state and federal grants to extend our long runway to about 6,400 feet.”

One of the program’s many headwinds is its proximity to Oklahoma City, and the FAA’s office located there. That’s why one of the OU School of Aviation’s areas of focus is its air traffic management degree. 

“We were the first four-year collegiate program to be certified by the FAA for what they call the Enhanced Air Traffic-College Training Initiative [E-CTI],” Wydra said. “That’s where our ATC students go directly to a control tower if they successfully complete the program, which is housed out here in our simulator building. We have both en route and tower ATC sims.” 

The school offers a bachelor’s degree in aviation with five concentrations. Aviation management is becoming an increasingly popular option, with 90 students in the program and an incoming freshman class of around 40. The airport serves an important purpose to these students as well, since they can gain job experience through shadowing or an internship. The airport is less than a 20-minute drive from the National Weather Center, where students can learn more about meteorology. 

Flight students utilize a fleet of Piper Warriors, 100is, and Seminoles. Those taking the turbine transition course fly a Beechcraft King Air C90B. Students pursuing their professional flight/helicopter degree complete rotorcraft coursework in a two-seat Guimbal Cabri G2. The maintenance hangar for all aircraft is based at the airport, so students can witness the return-to-service requirements for the aircraft that they are flying—an added bonus, as some schools perform their fleet’s maintenance off-site. 

More than 100 students per year earn their private pilot certificate at the Norman airport, which is an important local economic engine in addition to being an integral flight training facility.

This feature first appeared in the August Issue 973 of the FLYING print edition.