EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016: Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology Brings St. Louis Aviation to International Audience

Fred Harl and Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience was sure to visit another St. Louis aviation resource during our coverage of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 - Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology.  The academic facilities of Parks College are centered around the McDonnell Douglas Hall of St. Louis University, and the flight training is performed at nearby St. Louis Downtown Airport.  The Parks College exhibit was in the Aviation Gateway Park area, and included the display of one of the Cirrus SR20 aircraft recently acquired to provide instrument flight rules training and practical multi-crew experience needed for the transition to jet operations.        

Parks College was founded in 1927 by Oliver Parks in Cahokia, IL just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.  It became the first federally approved school of aeronautics, and trained an estimated one in ten of U.S. Army Air Corps pilots at several locations during World War II.  Following the war, Parks College became part of St. Louis University, and the campus was moved to the St. Louis campus in 1997.  The flight training continues at St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, an airport that opened in 1929 and was owned by Oliver Parks from the mid 1930s until 1964, though he remained as Airport manager for two more years.  The airport has had Parks in it's name until 1999.   

Today, Parks College offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in major engineering fields, Aviation Science, Aviation Management and Flight Science.  Minors are available in related science, engineering and aviation business fields.  Included in the academic curricula are numerous avenues of research across disciplines and on a global scale.  Students and faculty from across the world continually uphold the excellent reputation of Parks College and St. Louis University.  Please check the above links for detailed descriptions of the academic programs and for application information.      

The Aero Experience thanks the Parks College students and staff for their hospitality during our visit and throughout the year as we report on their Midwest Aviation events.