Flying high.

For those who have always dreamed of flying an airliner, Delta State University's Commercial Aviation program offers a unique combination: flight training and a college degree.

The program--the only one of its kind in Mississippi--allows undergraduate students to pursue either a Flight Operations or Aviation Management major. Would-be pilots choose the Flight Operations major, earning a Commercial Pilot Certificate with Airplane Single- and Multi-Engine Land and Instrument Airplane ratings as well as a Flight Instructor Certificate. Like the Aviation Management major, the program's Master of Commercial Aviation degree is also management-driven, and students can complete all the requirements for this degree through online study.

The goal of the aviation program, university officials say, is to offer a "holistic approach to educating and training well-rounded, industry-ready professional pilots." Classes introduce students to engine operations and human factors as well as the more typical flight training. After graduation, students are ready for work in many different facets of the aviation industry, including airlines, aircraft manufacturing, airport management, and air traffic control.

"The aviation program's recent flight operations graduates are being hired by the regional carriers like Northwest Airlink and American Eagle," says Thomas Sledge, chair of the Commercial Aviation department. "Our graduates are flying for all the major carriers such as American, Delta, and Northwest." Those interested in serving their country more directly are also prepared, as Delta State's program equips graduates to fly in the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

Students involved in this intensive program do not have to forfeit the college experience or the leadership and contacts gained through student organizations on the Cleveland campus. Many choose to join the school's nationally recognized Precision Flight Team and to become members of the campus's chapter of Alpha Eta Rho aviation fraternity.

The aviation program has grown dramatically since it began in 1981 with just 20 students and two faculty members teaching courses in general aviation, aviation management, and airway science. Some 400 students have since graduated from the program, and the original fleet of airplanes has grown along with the enrollment. The university now boasts 19 single-engine trainers and 2 multi-engine aircraft, including a Beechcraft King Air C-90. With their home base located at a new 15,625-square-foot hangar and flight-training complex near campus, flight students have plenty of room to spread their wings.

When they're not in the air, students gain confidence and preparation for a variety of flight situations by using the school's growing fleet of flight-training devices (FTDs), flight simulators with cross-country navigation features and color graphics. The program recently acquired three new high-tech simulators that mimic flying a light general aviation airplane. Computer software can adapt the simulators to imitate a Cessna 172R single-engine or a multi-engine Beechcraft Duchess, which are two of the models the program uses in its training fleet.

Instructors say the new flight simulators promise to be excellent teaching aids and provide more flexibility for professors and students. They are "so realistic that private pilot students can use them to perfect their landing techniques," Sledge says. "They allow us to do things we just couldn't do before, that we weren't capable of before."

For more information on the program, call 662/846-4205 or see www.deltastate.edu.