By Luke Moriarty
It was a Tuesday afternoon as I sat in the conference room of Aegean Airlines, an airline based in the country of Greece. My fellow peers, professors and I were here on a study abroad program with Embry-Riddle, currently participating in a week long workshop with the airline company. It was lunch time, all gathered around at rectangle tables when we found out the answer to our long-anticipated question.
The Chief Pilot stood up stating he had an announcement to make. All of the students, including myself, had a look of confusion and anticipation on our faces, we wondered could this be what we have been waiting to hear all week? The looming question was whether or not we would fly jump seat on an Aegean Airlines flight.
In the United States, the ability for a non-airline employee to sit in the cockpit of a commercial airliner was abolished after the September 11 terrorist attacks. However, in other countries, such as Greece, the decision about who can and cannot be in the cockpit is left to the pilots.
The Chief Pilot stood up from his seat, and proudly presented us the opportunity to fly jump seat. To sit, watch, and feel what it’s like to be in the front of the plane is, for an aviation enthusiast like myself, a dream. It has been my goal to be a pilot since I was a little boy.
On the day of the flight, all I could think was, is it 4:45pm yet? It seemed as if time was standing still. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was constantly checking my watch as I paced up and down the terminal still in shock over what was about to happen.
When 4:45pm arrived, there were four Embry-Riddle students, including myself, ready to go. Two would fly jump seat during the outbound leg and the other two, the return to Athens. We scanned our boarding passes and boarded the quick 40-minute flight. I chose to sit in the jump seat on the return flight from Mykonos. I wanted the best possible view of leaving the picturesque island. I knew our departure would be special because the airport has a tight 6,244-foot runway and is surrounded by mountainous terrain and clear blue water.
Once we touchdown in Mykonos, I waited for passengers to deplane before walking to the cockpit. I shook the pilot’s hand and was greeted with a big smile and enthusiastic hello. Conversation flowed naturally. The captain and first officer were kind enough to answer all my questions regarding how all the controls in the cockpit work. They even explained some of the main components of the Airbus A320. As we pushed back from very small terminal the aircraft came to life as the engines began to spool. The flight displays became illuminated, Air Traffic Control started giving instructions, and before I knew it the cockpit was fully operational. As we pulled onto the tight runway, the wheels lined up with the centerline and the engines roared. My shoulders flew back as we accelerated down the runway. We climbed over the tall mountains of Mykonos and then made a left turn, banking over the beautiful blue Aegean Sea. The mega yachts below started to turn to specs as we climbed to 12,000 feet.
Looking at the world from a view I’ve never seen before was outstanding. It was a view that confirmed I want the cockpit to be my office. It’s one thing to look out of the window from the body of the airplane, but the view from the six front square windows at the controls created a panoramic image I will never forget. This experience only made my desire to become a professional pilot even stronger.
As we got closer to Athens and the sprawling metropolis situated in the mountains came into view, the captain flipped on the seatbelt sign. Descending into the ancient city, I knew that being a pilot is the job for me. I thought to myself “I cannot wait to do this for a living.” The jump seat was more than just an amazing view while flying back from Mykonos, it was a real-life application of my hard work and dream to fly an Airbus on my own. This flight served as a reminder of what I am passionate about. Thank you to Embry-Riddle and the Office of Global Engagement for providing me with an opportunity that has further fueled my passion for aviation.
to start! Check-in for dorms started yesterday and continues thru today and classes begin tomorrow. I can’t wait for this summer. I already started having fun. The past two days I flew with friends to Tampa and visited Busch Gardens, walked around St. Petersburg and went to the mall in Brandon. It was a fun 2 days away from campus.
So far everything is going great. I move out of my room in McKay to my summer room in Adams. I am not looking forward to moving because I have so much stuff! It’s going to be a challenge and it has to get done. I will be a busy traveler this summer and also a studious student. I am going to enjoy the next few months as much as possible.
Over summer I will be traveling quite a bit on the weekends seeing that we have Fridays off during the summer. I will be going back home for a weekend or two, I will be going to Milwaukee and Puerto Rico! I will also be going to various places in Florida including Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Orlando.
This past weekend, Undergrad Admissions hosted a Sneak Preview event here on campus. Coincidentally, there was an Ooze ball competition hosted by Order of Omega that same day. I played ooze ball with First Generation and we got as far as the third round. Unfortunately we got beat by 3 points by my fraternity Delta Upsilon. We all had fun playing volleyball in the mud.
The semester and school year has come to a close. It was a long year but it was also fun. Thanks to all you guys that sent me emails over the past year. I hope that I have been of help to you guys. Still send me emails; I am here to answer any questions you may have. Remember to fill out your FAFSA forms, turn in your deposits and any other documents you need to turn in to Admissions or Financial Aid. I wish you guys luck and hope to see you on campus in the fall!
Hey guys. There are only two more weeks until finals week… wooo hoooo! I am so excited for the end of this semester and school year. So much has happened and I had a lot of experiences. I wish my freshmen year would never end, it seems like only yesterday I was just the new kid on campus. But we gotta grow up some day! It’s been really hectic the past few weeks, getting final projects and assignments done and ready to hand in and also trying not to slack off at the last minute. With all that said, I only have two finals, BA 201 [Principles of Management] and PSY 101 [Introduction to Psychology]. I am working really hard to make sure I do exceptionally well this semester.
So far, ERRSA has been great. We are still working on the bid process to have the SACURH conference on our campus for 2011 [changed from 2010]. This week we selected our committee chairs and assigned people certain assignments to have done by the next meeting. First Generation is also great. At Relay for Life, we placed second overall for the team with most spirit award! It was 6 of us that stayed from 6 p.m. Friday night until 6 a.m. Saturday morning. We ran and walked a lot of laps. All together we did about 96 miles for the entire night. We have a lot of activities planned for the next 2 weeks to wrap up a fun filled semester.
Again guys, if there are any questions that you have about anything at all, please feel free to email me. I am here to answer to the best of my ability, any questions that you may have. For those of you that accepted your admission to Embry-Riddle, congratulations, I hope to see you in the fall. Remember to get your FAFSA applications in and also to send in your housing contracts and all fees and documents needed to finalize your admission. Thanks to all of you guys that emailed me, I appreciate the comments. Keep on reading and always strive for the best in whatever you do.
Hey guys. I’m back from Spring Break! I had so much fun back home with friends and family in New York, I spent half the week relaxing with family and the other half out with friends. I did a program at my old high school for kids interested in aviation and I talked to them not only about Embry-Riddle but about the field of aviation and the jobs and careers that are associated with the field. It went really well, I got a few people that were interested in not only aviation, but Embry-Riddle! I also did a program on college prep, mainly focusing on the transition from high school to college. The day before I left New York, I went to a track meet and watched my old team compete. They got so much better since the last time I saw them run. I am so proud of them. I am happy to be back at school to complete the last month left in the Spring 09 semester.
I think my grades this semester will be better this semester than last!
Friday is Relay for Life. For those of you that do not know, it is an event done by the American Cancer Society in an effort to raise money for research and cure of cancer. The event is an all night event from 4 p.m. Friday night until 5 a.m. Saturday morning. There are going to be a lot of events going on that night to keep people occupied and also to fundraise. Also, Sunday is Adopt-A-Road which is a project put on by our SGA and what we do is we go to a specific road that the school has adopted and we clean it up! However long we stay out there counts as community service and we also have the opportunity of winning prizes. This week is Student Employment Week!! It’s just a week when Student Employment honors the student employees on campus. We get free food and prizes all week long! It’s also room selection week. This is when we get to choose who our roommates and actual rooms will be next semester.
It’s Spring Break time!!! This is the final few days until we go for Spring Break. I am so excited, I am going back home to be with family and old High School friends for an entire week. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re away at college, it makes you appreciate the opportunity to see family, no matter if it’s 3 days or a month. My mom is looking forward to me coming back home, she is so excited; she is taking off from work that day! Even though the excitement for the break is high on campus, we still have classes going on. On Friday before I leave, I have a test in Instrument Pilot Operations, which I think is the hardest one yet! I have been studying long and hard for it and I think I’ll do great.
Outside of classes, we had Greek Week last week. It was a lot of fun. The end of the week, I participated in the Up till Dawn Finale event as a Morale Captain. Up till Dawn is an organization that does fundraising activities, the proceeds of this go to the St. Judes Research Hospital that helps kids with cancer. The event was 12 hours, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. It was a long night but we had dances, food and a ton of activities. We had trikes and a bounce-a-bout and also a black jack table. We even played Gatorade pong! This week we also had the ERRSA Elections. The elections went very well, and everyone that I wanted to be in office got in. First generation will be having their elections in about two weeks.
Last weekend, Derrick and I went to his grandparent’s house in Fort Myers for the long weekend. It was so much fun and we really enjoyed it!
It’s February already, it seems as if the year started yesterday. The past month has been a blast. The weather here in Daytona has dipped down way into freezing temperatures. It got so cold that students that fly early in the morning couldn’t go up because of ice. It has started to warm up a bit, it’s not too hot and it’s not freezing… which is good! The cold weather hasn’t stopped me and my friends from having fun. It also hasn’t stopped us from going to classes either! I had a few test so far in AS 221 and WX 201 and will have my mid-term for BA-201 on Wednesday. In AS 221 I got an 88% and in WX I got a 76%. In both classes I only have three tests for the semester so I am in good shape so far. I am looking forward to the midterm in BA 201 because I know the material and it’s a pretty big test because it’s only a midterm and final for that class. Wish me luck!
I am still on financial hold for flight until next week. I got a loan from Chase to help cover the expense to at least finish my private pilot license. Darryl and Kayla are making great progress with their training; I am so proud of them and am supporting them 100%. I did a landing clinic last week so I could catch up on my landings, and it went very well. Even though I had to land in a crosswind, I still was able to deal with them, keeping in mind it was my first time behind the yoke since December 11th last year! I will be taking my written next week so I can get that out the way.
As for clubs, I am active with TFO, First Generation and ERRSA. This weekend, ERRSA had another retreat [FARH]. There was a selected group of people that went and, from what I heard, it was a fun experience. My friend Derrick and I are pledges and founding fathers for a new fraternity on campus, Delta Upsilon! The fraternity is all about leadership and service, and focus mainly at building leaders and promoting diversity. We painted the spirit rock and campus and have a whole week of events planned. We already have 8 guys committed and need just a few more to make a colony. I am so excited about the fraternity and am happy to have this opportunity.
