St. Louis University Hosts Aviation Summer Academy Students This Week

By Carmelo Turdo

St. Louis University's Oliver L. Parks Department of Aviation hosted twenty junior and senior high school students from five states at their annual Aviation Summer Academy this week. The students were given an immersive experience within the St. Louis aviation community, including a tour of the Gulfstream Aerospace finishing facility, flights in the university's training fleet, an inside look at the aeronautical engineering process and introduction to the world of uncrewed aerial vehicles. The tuition-based program is inclusive of room, board and transportation to all field trip locations. 

The Aero Experience attended the keynote speaker luncheon on Thursday afternoon at the Center for Aviation Science, St. Louis Downtown Airport. Captain Lee Kinnebrew, Vice President of Flight Operations for Southwest Airlines, gave an engaging presentation about the capabilities and culture of Southwest Airlines, now the number one air carrier for flights to and from St. Louis-Lambert International Airport. Captain Kinnebrew saved most of his time for Q&A with the students, who asked informed and detailed questions about the airline industry and preparing for advanced levels of flight certification. He used illustrations from his 13,000 hours of flying and years of management experience to present a realistic, yet inspirational outlook for this generation of pilot candidates. Here we show some views of the lunch along with a group photo. Also included is a photo of Captain Kinnebrew with the Southwest Scholars, Lainie Poole, from Syracuse, NY and Roman Salazar, from Chicago, IL. Southwest Airlines sponsored the air transportation to and from St. Louis for these two students.

Following lunch, the students divided into groups for afternoon cross-country flights to Mount Vernon, IL and back to St. Louis in the university's Piper Archer and Seminole training aircraft. Here we feature the first wave of five aircraft taxiing before departure from St. Louis Downtown Airport at 1:30 P.M. One student flew in the front seat on the outbound leg, and the other on the return leg. Another group would repeat the cycle upon their return. 

The Aero Experience thanks St. Louis University, Southwest Airlines and everyone who contributed to making the Aviation Summer Academy a great experience for these dedicated and ambitious students. Special thanks to Amy Preis, St. Louis University School of Science and Engineering Outreach Coordinator, and Julie Hauser, The Hauser Group, Inc., for contributing content to this story.