The largest high school flying club on the planet continues to grow

While this year’s SUN ‘n FUN has been postponed due to the coronavirus, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on at the fly-in’s campus.

In fact, the Lakeland Aero Club, the largest high school flying club on the planet, recently expanded, creating additional room for a full-motion flight simulator and more.

The club, which is part of the Aerospace Center for Excellence on the Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL), moved into its 12,500-square-foot hangar in 2016.

In early 2020, two adjacent carports were walled in. The south carport became the new meeting room for the Lakeland Aero Club and EAA Chapter 454.

EAA Chapter 454 was meeting in the warbird building when it was available. Thanks to the club’s new air-conditioned room, they can meet at their hangar and host other chapters and student groups as well. The club has 63 active members between the ages of 14 and 24. 

The north carport became a dedicated darkroom for the Redbird FMX Full-motion Flight Simulator. Meanwhile, an old, smaller meeting room at the hangar was converted into a simulator monitoring room.

Flight training

Club members, who are also students at the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, the high school on the SUN ‘n FUN campus, begin their flight training with Take Flight software on desktop flight simulators. These desktop simulators have 16 pre-solo maneuvers programmed into them.

“Now, one instructor can train multiple students at once and tutor out bad habits,” said Mike Zidziunas, director of the Lakeland Aero Club. “When they get 90% proficiency on that, then they graduate to the Redbird Flight Simulator. We teach discipline, which is doing the right thing even when you don’t want to do it. We can get real proficiency-based training before the student gets into a plane. We put years of experience on the front-end of students’ training.”

From the simulator monitoring room, the instructor interacts as an air traffic controller with the student in the Redbird simulator. A large television screen shows what the student pilot sees, and other students can observe along with the instructor. The student pilot narrates his actions and decisions during the simulated flight while the instructor tests the student through different dynamic scenarios.

“We’re working with Southeastern University to study aeronautical decision-making for adolescents,” said Mike Z. “We break down the decision-making process at each step using the simulators.” 

Using scenario-based training in the simulators will also help Southeastern University collect data on how adolescents compare to learners of all ages, he added. 

The new room for the flight simulator also increases the effectiveness of the club’s training, according to Mike Z.

“Having the Redbird in a dark room is more effective and feels real enough to get the students fully engaged. It really changes the experience,” he said with a grin. “If you’re doing night IFR training and you drop your pen, it’s a problem.”

Mike explained that because of the pilot shortage, everyone, including the FAA, “is looking at proficiency-based training as opposed to hours-based training. Students can’t solo until age 16, except in gliders, but we can start training them earlier on simulators. Eight of our students have soloed at 14 in gliders.”

And the simulator is definitely getting a workout at the flying club.

“We flew the Redbird simulator 1,000 hours last year,” he reported.

“We need to get students engaged at a young age because their interests shift when their hormones kick in,” he explained. “Because they’re teenagers, their competitiveness helps accelerate their progress.”

Building Success

The Lakeland Aero Club is turning out pilots and mechanics. They build and maintain their own aircraft, completing more than 12,500 hands-on shop hours.

This year during the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo, the Lakeland Aero Club will build a Piper Cub in a week in the hangar.

Patriot Aircraft, a subsidiary of C & D Aviation in Bessemer, Alabama, which is building the EAA Sweepstakes Cub, is producing a quick-build Cub kit, according to Mike Z.

“We will build kit number one in our hangar during SUN ‘n FUN,” he said. “Patriot will fabric it and paint it between SUN ‘n FUN and Oshkosh. On our way up to Oshkosh, we’re going to stop by and pick it up.”

“The Cub kit is something for EAA chapters to build and they can form a flying club around it,” he continued. “The gap between the older pilots and the younger ones gets filled when you encourage a mentoring system to keep students moving on the right path. Mentoring breathes life into EAA chapters. Instead of living in the past, they’re working toward the future.”

“All our planes have engines we have built. Students who earn an A&P right out of high school can earn $30 to $35 an hour. Here, they learn good habits, like putting every tool back in the toolbox. Tools do not get set down in planes. We don’t leave until every tool is accounted for.”

Mike pulled open a drawer in one of the tool chests in the hangar.

“Once, we had to search for a wrench. We found it in the fuselage of a build. I didn’t even have to tell them what it meant if it had been left there to get tangled in the cables. Sure, they groan at burring out rivet holes, but they do it right because they’re going to fly these planes. If it’s not 100% right, it’s not right.”

EAA Chapter 454 earned a Bronze Award in 2019. Chapters are judged on 10 elements, such as growing membership, participating in Young Eagle programs, hosting public events, and participating in leadership training. Mike said their goal is to earn a Gold Award.

The club’s progress has been nothing short of astounding, he noted.

“We’ve already sailed off the map of anything I dreamed we’d be doing at this point,” Mike said with pride.