On any given day, as many as 33 small airplanes owned by Liberty University will take off from and land at Lynchburg’s municipal airport – giving students the hours they need to become certified pilots. In a four-year program, Dean Steven Brinly says students study the physics and engineering of flight, learn about wind and weather and get additional practice on simulators.
“Before they even get to the airplane they’re learning how to take off, climb, do turns and emergency procedures all with virtual reality and an AI instructor to help set them up for success when they get to the airplane.”
The school also has cockpit replicas where in-person instructors like Payton Smit can train students like Nicole Schockley.
“What are we going to do if an engine failure happens?," Smit asks.
“We’re going to abort our takeoff and pull the throttle out,” Schockley responds.
In addition to training pilots, the school offers degrees for mechanics, advanced drone operators and aviation administrators – claiming students are job ready when they leave Liberty.
"Boeing forecasts over the next 20 years there needs to be 716,000 new mechanics," Brinly says. "For pilots the training is a little bit longer. + There are 674,000 pilots needed in the next 20 years, so the industry is really ripe for everything related to aviation right now."
Of course would-be pilots will still have to pass muster with the Federal Aviation Administration.
"The FAA evaluates their skills in the aircraft, their knowledge of regulations, knowledge of air space, safety practices," Brinly explains. "For the private pilot training the FAA requires at least 40 hours of time in the aircraft, training. For instrument and commercial it’s additional time in the air."
Students take field trips – to Philadelphia or Charleston, but for flying partners Judd Lero and Adam Gorsline, the flight from Lynchburg to Dulles was especially valuable. Lero describes it with a single word.
"Chaotic!" he recalls. "It’s fun being in a small GA aircraft, trying to land at the same airport as a 200-passenger aircraft.
"Best flight that I have had personally was that leg to Dulles," Gorsline adds. "It was super cool to be able to perform on a stage like that in a highly congested air space in a small aircraft and to be able to perform and prove it to yourself. That was a big confidence boost for me, and it was a blast!"
And they agree that the intensity of training builds strong friendships.
"There’s a shared passion there. We’ve learned and progressed together," Gorsline says. "I think that’s another bond that we share. Aviation -- there’s a language for it, and when you’re around other people who fly, who understand that passion and understand the language it’s easy to get along with them. It’s a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding."
The building where students learn reinforce that special culture with runway and taxi-way markings on the corridor floors, the walls lined with photos and awards including the Loening trophy, which recognizes the most innovative collegiate aviation programs in the country. Named for the Wright Brothers’ engineer, it was awarded in 1929 to the Harvard Flying Club by Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. It’s gone to Liberty four times in the last six years.
Which helps to explain why – while she’s only 16 – Lexi Lanning is taking the college tour.
"I’m in Air Force Junior ROTC at my high school, and freshman year we took a discovery flight, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s really cool!’" she recalls. "Then I got the chance to go up with one of our family friends. His name is Mikey, and he has an aerobatics plane, and he took me up and we did all the flips and stuff, and I was like, ‘I’m hooked! I want to fly now.’ I’ve been flying since I was 15 – working on my private pilots’ license.”
Her parents -- Luke and Katie Lanning – have mixed feelings about Lexi’s plans.
"I’m excited for her. I want her to do whatever she gets a mind to," says her mother.
"It definitely wears on my nerves sometimes," her dad confesses, "but I used to race motorcycles, so I can’t really say a whole lot."
They agree that if she wants to fly, Liberty would be a good place to prepare.
