From the 11th to the 16th of July, I took part in OBAP's (Organisation of Black Professionals) Ace Academy in Fort Worth, hosted by Lahcen Armstrong and Cory Glenn. American Airlines were the sponsor for the camp and most of the pilots and volunteers were working for American Airlines. To apply to join it, you have to pay a $100 fee and send in an application. I highly recommend this camp if you are looking to get into the aviation industry, especially if you want to be a pilot.
Before we started, we were sent some homework to learn, which was composed of memorising some Airport designation codes, outlines of planes, important American aviation figures and some of the parts of an aeroplane. We were tested on these throughout the week and got points for correct questions. The top 10 people at the end were given some rewards, like a model plane or a military unit badge (which is what I got). Food was also given by sponsored restaurants, which changed every day. We got to meet and speak to a lot of guest speakers, such as Cory Glenn, the director of pilot recruiting, and Chip Long, the vice president of flight operations. All of these people explained how American Airlines runs and what it takes to manage the hundreds of flights out of DFW every day. A couple of Air Force pilots came to talk to us about flying for the air force and I learnt that most airline pilots come from the military as opposed to the civilian route. We learnt how pilots and flight attendants are trained, took a tour of the training facilities and got to go in some flight simulators and a real 787 cockpit.
I was surprised to see that most of our volunteer pilots flew 737s, which are the most common aeroplane in the American Airlines fleet. Before this camp, I never truly thought about how common 737s are, but almost every pilot we met flew a 737. A truly once-in-a-lifetime experience was getting to tour the American Airlines Control Center, which I found out was no longer located in the tower that we all know, but buried in the building and operated with cameras to see and track the planes. Something I wasn't expecting was to be able to see the airport fire station and the facilities they use to train their firemen, like a model aeroplane that was completely black from burns and a building they use to practice building fires. Just as we finished going inside one of the firetrucks, the firemen had to respond to a real alert, which was very cool to see. No aerospace summer camp is finished without a museum tour, and the museum we toured was the CR Smith Museum, which showed off the history of American Airlines. A good thing about this museum is that it has a lot of hands-on activities instead of just having exhibits to read, like a flight simulator and a soft play area for younger kids. On Saturday, we got to go on an initiation flight in a small plane, which was the highlight of the camp. This was cool as I got to sit at the front and help take off the plane and watch how a pilot flies in real time.
Looking at the schedules of the other Ace Academies, it seems that all of them are pretty similar in what they offer, with the main difference being who sponsors them. This camp has a high focus on pilots, so if you don't want to be a pilot, this camp may not be for you. On the other hand, I have more of an interest in space and rockets, but there are things that this camp offers that are hard to get otherwise, like the chance to meet with some very intriguing and important people and tour facilities that are otherwise restricted. We got to be in the news while touring the control centre. The faculty and volunteers were very pleasant and accommodated everyone, making them all feel comfortable. Overall, I recommend joining an ACE Academy camp during the summer if you're interested in Aerospace and becoming a pilot.
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