Hello to all the journal readers. The time has come for me to say goodbye. I have had such an enjoyable school year filled with a little of everything. When I look back on what I have accomplished, I am proud and content, but then I look forward and know that there is much more to come in this game of life.

I would like to start off by saying that I have finally become a licensed Private Pilot. I cannot tell you how happy I was the day I finally received my license. It has been a long road to get to that point, but I did it! So flying for this year is done; I will come back next year to start and finish my Multi-Engine rating.

Academically, I have one final left to take today. It is for my Aircraft Engines & Turbines class. I have not received as good grades as I thought I would, but they will suffice. Unfortunately, not all my finals have turned out that well, so it was no surprise I got some of the grades I did.

I will finish this year with 49 credits though, just about 10 shy of being in junior standing. I will take six credits back home and will be on track for a graduation in spring of 2007. I will probably look into internships and co-ops though, so my graduation in 2007 is still a big question mark. All that will be figured out and decided as my time here at Riddle goes by.

For the Summer, I will be lounging back in California and will enjoy time with my family, girlfriend, and friends. I look forward to hitting the waves on the beaches, going Jet Skiing in the lakes, and visiting some nice places like Yosemite (I love to camp) and Catalina Island (a nice place to just get away). It’s going to be nice to have a car again, as well as a nice big bed and a whole house to just kick-back in. I’m looking forward to having fun, mixed in with some school and some work.

Lastly, next year, I will come back and be taking mostly core classes which are needed for the Aeronautical Science degree. I am living in McKay once again. I chose McKay, obviously, not for its appearance, but for the space that you get. It was the cheapest option for me that provided me space and convenience. I can still wake up 15 minutes before class and be on time every now and then. Many of my friends have made arrangements to live off campus, so I figure I’ll be on and off campus depending on which day of the week it is.

Well, some final (and very random) words to all of you journal readers. Enjoy your college life wherever you go. I had a different experience than most of my other friends because I was doing different things than they were. I remember getting a call on a Friday night from a friend of mine who asked whether I was partying or just kicking back that night. I responded by saying that I had a two-hour cross-country to plan and was in need of sleep due to a 7 AM flight the next day (yes, you fly 7 days a week here).

Well, sometimes, I made sacrifices in order to make ends meet – as some would say. New things popped up all the time: money became an issue, time became an issue, scheduling my life, my weekends, my days, my nights all became an issue. I now had to buy all my own stuff (never, ever forget toilet paper!), I had to remember to wash my clothes before I run out of undergarments (sometimes the last clean pair of boxers I have are the ones I wear while I’m washing clothes), to eat correctly because no one stopped me from eating anything (Propellers’ burgers and Caesar Salad are great!), even waking up became an issue (set two alarms, the first one will never work…trust me).

Don’t forget to set your alarm, no one will wake you up. Office hours aren’t there for your professor, they are there for you, so make use of them (especially if you missed the class because you slept through it). Make use of all your resources, many are always made available (tutoring is always free!).

Lastly, enjoy college. It is a time of life where you should be having fun and enjoying your time. If you ever don’t feel right where you are at or just feel like things aren’t working out, step back and take a look at your life, sometimes that is all we need.

Enjoy the college life and good luck to all of you. Whether you are going on for another year in high school or going on to college, follow your dreams and never lose sight of your goals.

If you are coming to Embry-Riddle next year, feel free to stop me if you see me to say hello. It would be nice to see who exactly read my journals and what you guys really thought.

Well, I have to get going. Got a final today, then a flight, then the summer! Have a great summer everybody!
Sergio M.

Hello readers, I hope that studying for finals is not depressing you too much, I know for one of the boys it all became a bit too much, I don’t want to go into details, but it’ll be alright Weirdo. I am late writing this entry, as it has been hectic trying to get all of my presentations finished and getting some study done. All is well now though, I got everything handed in and I only have three finals left that I am not too worried about.

Anyway, I had a great time in France the week before last. The wedding was great; it was in a small village outside of Nice called Pellion. I fear that I might not do it any justice trying to describe it, so try and use your imagination. It was on the side of a mountain; very picturesque and quaint, just what you imagine a small village in France to look like, but nicer. The ceremony itself was great, very tasteful, and the champagne all day wasn’t bad either. The partying didn’t stop until the following morning at 6:30am, just as it should be. Coming back after that was possibly worse than returning after Christmas, you know what it is like when you have been looking forward to something for a long time and then it is over and all I had to look forward to now was finals. Devastating.

I am at present sorting out accommodation for next semester. Luckily one of the lad’s parents is buying a house and I have managed to bag a room. It’ll be fantastic to have my own room, not to have to worry about a roommate and being able to cook my own food in my own kitchen. I would love to be able to get a car next semester too; I hate having to rely on people to get around. I say that now but I am pretty lazy and I’ll probably manage not to bother going for my driving test. Good intentions, I’m full of them.

I am just a week from getting home for two and a bit month. I cannot wait. An old cliche I know, but this year has flown by, a whole year of the dorms, the village, essays, and tests, all over. And before I forget I would like to say that the staff in the village is a great bunch of people who can’t do enough to help you, and whatever they get paid is not enough. Also I would like to put a shout out to the boys on the team and in the dorms that have put up with me all semester and made this experience a bit more bearable. After all my complaining throughout the year I have to say that I have made some great friends and I have some great memories to take home for the summer.

It’s all come to an end. I wish I had something poetic to say but I don’t, so all I have to say is that I have enjoyed writing these articles and thank you to any of you that have taken the time to read them. I know it must have been painful for you especially with some of my writing. Thanks Hugh Davey.

There’s never any rest for the weary and the last week of classes certainly doesn’t deviate from that. Though it’s been a rather boring and no-energy kind of semester so far, these last two weeks have done nothing but rain gobs of work, projects, studying, exams, homework, moving, travel issues, etc. into a very small period of time. Unfortunately, few of these things could have been taken care of earlier, as they’re pertinent to these last few weeks of school, such being Color Parade, finals, end of year evals and other paperwork that cannot be done until things are near completion.

End-of-year stressors aside, it’s been an interesting and fruitful year. Though it didn’t end as strong as I’d expected it to, there was a tremendous amount of learning and growth throughout. For those looking to learn in a brief moment the lessons I learned in a year, I would suggest the following:

• Be aware of your options. Constantly ask yourself, “What are my possibilities for action at this moment?” Had I done so two years ago, I probably would have worked and established myself in Daytona rather than Orlando since I knew I was going to ERAU, but was still acting on what were then empty, preconceived plans of action.
• Know what you’re getting into. A lot of people don’t like where they end up in university, occupation, etc. simply because they didn’t find out what the place they were going to actually offered. Where college is concerned, be sure you ask questions about lifestyle, academic breadth, as well as get a sense of the overall cultural climate of the area. These things are best done by spending some time at the universities you are interested in. Be sure to do so on several ‘normal days’ and not just an orientation or open house day when everything is geared for selling the school and not showing what it’s really about.
• Never quit. This speaks for itself. No body will believe you’re truly interested in something, not even yourself, if you give up without fighting with all you’ve got.
• Be professional in everything you do. Don’t read this as to say you can’t have fun, but when our country is rolling towards highly educated and capable individuals and, more importantly, is cracking down on those who refuse to do a job properly, you cannot afford to behave like a high school freshman anymore. Aviation’s not for everyone. We do need someone to flip our burgers.
• Above all things, remember where you’re from. Though you may go on to do great things, make a name for yourself, and travel far from your home both physically and mentally, your heritage is what got you where you are. If you do not embrace and respect that heritage with personal humility and do not pass along those values to the next generation, then expect your glory to fade faster than it came to be.

On the verge of another major turning point in life, I wish all of you the absolute best that life has to offer. Life is nothing more than a fantastic adventure. So long as you control it and not let it control you, expect the most from this journey.

To my friends and colleagues, I send my deepest appreciation for your support and humor.
Namaste, and Onward + Upward,
David

OH MY GOSH!!! It’s down to the last little bit. Nothing but finals to do right? NOPE! As usual, we’re left taking a test in every class, and finishing up like two or three chapters of homework. And then start finals (from what I hear) on the 30th!!!! AHHH!!! I’ve got two programs to write, well, make that one; I just finished the other one. And, on top of that I have to learn an eight page spiel for the Boat Ride at EPCOT, before May 1st, that’s my assessment after 4 days or so of training. Wish me luck on that y’all. I’m working on my comp sci II project. It’s crucial. And of course I started working on it WAYYYY late!! We had about 3 months to do it. I’ve started 2 days before it’s due. Let us hope that this turns out well, haha. And it’s not like I procrastinated, it’s been a crazy couple of months around here. School and recent work and everything else, bahhH!! It probably won’t calm down until August for me, work and all, but that’s cool.

I went to the American Hi-Fi/Bowling for Soup concert. It was pretty good. I must say that the first two warm-up bands, I think, weren’t all that great. The first guy really stunk. People in the crowd were yelling for him to get off the stage. And when he announced it was his last song, everyone cheered. It was just funny. I won’t talk much about that though, I’m sure that everyone else will.

We had a recent cold snap here, got down about 50 or so at nights for a day or two, but now it’s back to normal. Hot-ish. I was thinking about going to the beach or something, but who knows. I haven’t been there in a long while I don’t think. At least this year is ending better than it started. I must say that Florida in the winter time is nice, but I definitely like it better in the summer.

Now, on my off time, I like to go to the Disney Parks, especially since it’s free for me again. I went to Disney/MGM Studios the other day. I had a need to ride Tower of Terror for some reason, then finished it off with Illuminations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show back at EPCOT. Next week, probably a day at Magic Kingdom, then maybe some time at Animal Kingdom, who knows. It’s the “happiest celebration” going on soon, so there’s some different stuff going on all around the ‘world’. May 5th is the actual day so if anyone wants to take a trip to see Riddle, come on down and stop by Disney while you’re in the Central Florida area.

Anyways, I had better get back to work on my project and the 15 other things that I need to get done today. Later yens (felt like getting REALLY southern on that one, haha).

-Darryl

Hello Everyone,

Things are finally starting to come to a close, this being one of them. It’s my second to last journal, and I’ll soon complete my first year of college. The past two weeks have been spent preparing for this coming week, finishing up all the material so we could review and start finals on Saturday. I had my last tests before the finals and a paper due, all of which went well. If I am able to do well on all my finals again this semester, I’ll be able to maintain my 4.0! Hopefully all will go well and I’ll find time to study amidst all the other things going on.

I’m still searching for a house to buy and move into next year. It’s been fun, but I’m ready to find something so that I have those plans for next year secure. I’ll miss not living on campus and being close to everything, but I’m really looking forward to having my own space and a kitchen to cook and bake. I miss not being able to make my own food; thankfully I have amazing upper-classmen friends who allow me to come over and bake at their place if I’m really desperate. Also, having my own washer and dryer will be nice. It gets expensive, but getting 5 loads of laundry done at the same time was nice for a year.

I need to start packing up my stuff to put in storage; we have to be out of the dorms the day after our finals are completed. My mom is flying down to drive with me back up to Michigan for the summer. It will be fun to have that time to talk and catch up on all that has happened this past semester.

My summer is going to be completely crazy, I have so many things that I want to accomplish. I’m planning on taking a class at the local Community College in my area, get my pilot’s license, work, and visit with my friends. Also I’ll be attending Oshkosh with ERAU to work at their tent for the event. I’ve gone every year with my dad since I was in 4th grade, that’s how I found out about this school. It will be so rewarding to go this year as a student, encouraging other young people to follow their goals and encourage them to look into attending Embry-Riddle! Look into coming to the event, it’s the biggest airport/ tower in the world for that week, and it’s mesmerizing. They have great acrobatic air show in the afternoon, acres of airplanes on exhibit to see (kit planes, war birds, new factory built, classics, ultra lights, sea planes), and barn/tents of displays from everything and everyone who has anything to do with aviation. Every year that I’ve gone I’ve found something new to look at or a new area to explore. If you think it might be there, it probably is :-). For any pilot or person that enjoys aviation it’s a must see! Hopefully I’ll see you there!

Back to the present, off the Oshkosh Tangent, if you couldn’t tell I really love that place. This past Saturday I went to the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity’s Chartering Banquet with Ben and had a wonderful time. The fraternity was chartered two weeks ago and Pike is the newest fraternity on campus; they were all very excited and were initiated this weekend before the banquet. It was a great experience and I was happy to be a part of it. Girls love any excuse to get all dressed up.

Well, I hope all is going well for you as you begin to wrap up your academic year. I need to get back to homework; I didn’t get much of it done this weekend.

Until next time, Happy Landings!
Kristina

Hola, hope all finds you well. I got into some trouble with housing and campus safety this week and one of my best friends got kicked out of school, so I am most definitely anticipating the end of this semester. Most of this semester ran pretty smoothly, so I’m afraid I’m making up for lost time now, but as long as I can make it through to the end, I should be set.

I’m pleasantly surprised to find that many of my classes are ending early. All of the content has been covered prior to the last week of classes (and we get Friday off!), so many of my finals are this week as opposed to during “finals week” next week. I’ve also decided that 9:15 classes and 3:30 classes are equally bad. Same goes for anything before or after these time blocks..either I can’t wake up or I can’t sit still. Hopefully I’ll take advantage of this finding and plan my classes better in the future. You’ll figure out what works and doesn’t work for you pretty early on.

Daytona Beach has been crazy lately. Between speed week, bike week, perpetual spring break, cheerleading competitions, and BCR, this semester has been a giant tourist attraction. It can get pretty annoying when it takes 4x as long to drive anywhere, roads are conveniently blocked off, and waiting in line at your favorite ice cream store takes an hour. The beaches have been pretty packed, but we’ve all figured out less-traveled roads to get there in hopes of keeping our sanity.

I was talking with a friend today, it’s just really weird to sit back and think about how this year is really over. It still feels sort of unnatural to say that I’m a college student, and here I am 1/4 of the way finished. “College”, for me, has always involved living in Wood Hall, and that’s going to change soon. I won’t be able to run next door or upstairs to visit my friends at 2 in the morning, in fact, a few of them won’t be here at all :-(. I’m pretty settled into my routine now, and it’s going to be uprooted very shortly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for summer and taking it easy..but I’m having a good time here. It doesn’t help that everyone is going home for the summer and “home” is NJ, but my parents moved down here, so I’m stuck. I’m definitely heading up to visit my friends and catch some shows though. I’m going to see Finch in the city in May and check out Skate and Surf Fest and Warped Tour in Jersey. There’s a definite shortage of shows in FL and it’s killing me. Bowling for Soup did come to campus on Sat night (with MC Lars, Riddlin Kids, and American Hi-Fi)..was a really good time. It’s been months since I’ve crowd surfed, and it reminded me of old times. 🙂

Take care of yourselves, keep pushing through those awful last few weeks of the school year, and I’ll let you know how finals go. As always, any ?’s: pugh754@erau.edu

Melanie

Hello again to all my journal readers. As the year comes down to an end, I find myself having the same thing I did in all the end of my previous school years, a bad case of laziness and procrastination. This is the worst time to have such a thing, but I hope to get out of it for a week or so, so I can do well on my finals. I have one full week of classes, then about a half-week of finals and I am officially done with my first year of college.

For those of you who have not finalized your choice for college, I do want to say one thing. I waited until May 1 to submit my deposit to Embry-Riddle. I had a hard time choosing whether or not I really wanted to fly for my career. It’s a hard choice for many, but most, if not all, look back on that decision with no regrets. This also goes to all you engineer majors, ATC majors, engineering physics majors, space physics majors, etc. Just remember that some people will make the wrong choice and be forced to transfer schools. But remember that you want to be happy knowing you tried instead of remorseful and regretful that you never attempted. I am not vouching for Riddle here, I am saying in general. I was in your spot last year and it wasn’t easy, but I am happy with the choice I made. Good Luck to all of you who are still deciding on where to go and wherever your plans take you, good luck in the future!

On another note, life around here has been laid-back lately. The weather has been much better with the temperature getting warmer and the rain leaving, it makes for some great flying weather. Speaking of which, I think I am finally going to get my Private Pilot License this week, if I pass the check ride! It’s kind of weird to be thinking that it is already late April and I still have not been able to attain the license. I originally planned to have it before Spring Break, but some delays changed that, then when I came back, I finished flying, turned in my paperwork, and waited for my check ride. Well, I was told that I had missed a certain flight which was required so I promptly made it up. I then completed the paperwork, but someone at the flight department forgot to tell my instructor that my paperwork was completed, so I waited even longer for my final oral. Since two weeks had passed from my last maneuvers flight, I, just today, went flying again and practiced those maneuvers which I need to know for my check ride. I was told today that I WILL be scheduled for my check ride sometime this week, so I am keeping my fingers crossed so that I can get the dang thing scheduled and, hopefully, passed.

This weekend we had a concert here sponsored by Embry-Riddle which was pretty cool. I am not a big fan of the bands that played, but I am not going to complain. I got in for free and enjoyed my time there. One lesson was learned though: standing next to the speaker doesn’t necessarily enhance the concert experience. Well, I am just kidding, I knew what I was doing by standing near a speaker, but I didn’t realize how long it would take me to get rid of that ringing and hissing in my ear (I am still fighting it as I write this journal). It was fun nonetheless. The bands that played were ‘Riddlin’ Kids, ‘American Hi-Fi,’ and ‘Bowling For Soup.’ When I go back to California this summer, I will be going to the Warped Tour and I am looking forward to that one. Music has always been one of my main interests. Most people are surprised when I tell them the type of music I like. It ranges from Rock to Rap to Acoustic to Classical. If it’s good music, I’ll listen to it!

Well, putting my music rant to an end, I just want to thank all those of you who have complimented me for my journals. I can’t say how good it makes me feel to know that at least a few people, if not many, are actually enjoying what I write. Thank you once again for your attention, comments, suggestions, and support. I will be writing one last journal entry around this time next week, and will have a recap of the whole year for you all. I would just like to ask that if you are reading this and would like me to include anything in particular, post a message on the message board and I’ll make sure to include it. Anything from Aeronautical Science, flying, even campus and dorm life. If there is anything I may help or assist you with, let me know. Until next time!

Sergio

Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing great!!!

Ok, I will start with today. Couple of friends and I have got into this habit of playing volleyball and the more we play, the more I like the game; I was horrible when we started playing but now I am getting good at it. Yesterday we played it for three hours and today for two hours and we play it in one of the sand court by Doolittle hall. Today we had six people on each side for three games and later on four people on each side for another three games, it was absolute fun!! I have decided to play it often.

The Badminton club has organized its internal singles and doubles tournament first time in the history of Riddle; they are this weekend and the next weekend. I am glad I will be part of this event; I love playing badminton as a recreational sport. There are more than 20 members taking part in this tournament. And one more thing, I am the Public Relations Officer of badminton club. So I am really looking forward in publicizing the club and make it a successful one. So this is to all the future students, come and check us out!!!

I ran for the elections in Indian Student Association as a treasurer but luck didn’t favor and I lost. Even though I had a great speech and I interacted with members greatly; my counterpart who was a complete failure and had no sense whatsoever of the whole process, won. The rest of the executive board looks fine and I think they will balance out the things. But I have sincerely decided that I will drill the executive board this year and attend every meeting so that ISA could achieve substantial progress in this year. The main problem with students at Riddle is they keep studying and don’t participate in good stuff. I mean we are in college and we are supposed to have fun, I know school is important but that does not mean…blah…blah…blah…I don’t want to bore you all.

The research paper I did for my SS 325, Eastern European Studies class got me a good ‘A’. It was about Terrorism in Eastern Europe and my professor wrote that it was the best paper he received on that topic. So I was quite happy with that remark. In my technical writing class our group was doing a research paper on ‘Laser Propelled Space Travel’, but later we realized that it was too narrow for three people to work on, so we decided to change our topic to ‘Alternative to Rocket Propelled Space Travel’, I did a independent research on StarTram System, a propulsion method in which a space ship is propelled to an orbital speed of 8 kilometer/sec using Maglev (magnetic levitation) technology which is used in Japan for trains. Then it is released into space using a launch tube which can elevate 20 kilometers high from earth’s surface. The maximum speed achieved by trains in Japan using Maglev technology is 350 kilometer/hour, any speeds faster than this is physically impossible in atmosphere so to deal with this impasse researchers have come up with vacuum acceleration tunnel and launch tube for space craft. If the system is adopted then it would cut the cost of space explorations from $10,000 /kilogram to $30 / kilogram. The other group member did it on Space Elevator and Solar Sails, they’re interesting too, check it out.

As you guys know I am staying here for summer, I have already registered for summer classes and completed my housing formalities. I have guaranteed housing in summer because not many people stay here.

I will write back soon. Good luck to everyone for their final exams.

OVER & OUT!!!

Hey guys, looks like it’s time for another one of these biweekly installments. I just realized that we only have two left, which means school is almost out for the year. It’s hard to believe…at times, the year has gone really slow, but it’s weird to think that I’ll be liberated in a few weeks with a year of college under my belt. I’m also looking forward to the extra month of summer vacation that comes along with not being in high school anymore.

The workload this last couple of weeks hasn’t been incredibly taxing, which has been helpful because it was an incredibly rough week otherwise. It’s really tempting to take off for the beach instead of going to class in this weather, but I’ve done pretty well thus far. I ended up dropping math..I didn’t want to risk failing because any failed class while on AFROTC scholarship results in a conditional..and 3 conditionals gets one disenrolled from the program entirely. I think I’m going to end up auditing the class because I’ll have to take it next semester anyhow, but it frees up my M/W/F schedule and allows me plenty of free time/nap time.

I just found out that my dad, who teaches AFJROTC over at DeLand HS is going to let people from S.O. come over and run their last PT session of the semester. As of now, their PT program is run on more or less of a voluntary basis, so we want to head over there and give them a bit of a wakeup call before they head off for summer, so if you go to DeLand HS…head’s up! 🙂

All of my classes are going fairly well..I lucked out this semester with my lack of papers to write, but I’m sure I’ll pay for it a few semesters down the line. I really enjoy PSY 220 (take Bradshaw), and I’m actually learning a lot in my NROTC class.. and for the record, because I keep getting asked, I have no intention of switching. I thought that I’d dive right into the ATC program with the first course, but it’s mostly history for now, so I guess I’ll have to wait until next fall to get to the fun stuff.

I’ve also realized that I’ve got some really good friends here lately. I guess it takes tough times to bring out the best in everyone, but I hadn’t realized how close I’ve gotten to some of the people here in knowing them a relatively short amount of time. S.O. is like a family to me, as well as some incredible people I’ve met along the way. My best friend Katie from home also came to visit me this week which definitely put me in a much better mood. It was nice to introduce her to the people she’s heard so much about and have her experience my life at Riddle. It was also a well deserved break from monotony on both ends, and ended up keeping me sane when I ended up needing it most..thanks Kate!

Keep the questions coming, I know you incoming freshmen are getting anxious; you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.. Keep up the hard work and finish strong, don’t let senioritis get the best of you.

Later,
Melanie

Hello again to all my journal readers. It has been quite interesting receiving so many e-mails from many of you who are interested in learning more about Riddle’s flight program. This is why this journal will be very oriented towards the flight program here. Life is still the same here, just turned 19 this last weekend, I am about four weeks away from finishing off my first year of college, and I am doing well in general. I went down to Tampa for Airfest 2005 and had a great time; unfortunately, choosing not to wear sun block proved to be bad choice. Life here has been laid-back lately, but it has been nice to get some time to relax.

We will soon be registering for Fall 2005 classes and I have set my schedule to be much like this semester’s schedule in order to continue a bit of the academic success I have been able to attain. Next year, I will be taking Meteorology II, Technical Report Writing, Aircraft Systems and Components, Flight Physiology, Aircraft Performance, and the Multi-Engine Flight course. A looks to be a very full schedule, but quite interesting also in that I will be taking many Aeronautical Science courses. I am also going to be taking 2 general education courses back home. It was quite a deal, 6 credits for $170. As a California resident, I got quite a discount on my tuition back home. Next year looks to be very promising; I am looking forward to it.

Aeronautical Science here at Riddle is unlike your average flight program. You will be introduced to the basics of flight, from Newton’s Laws and how they relate to flight, to Bernoulli’s Principle and how it directly relates to flight. You will start off by taking AS 132, also known as Basic Aeronautics I. In this class, I built my knowledge of Aeronautics in general and was then taught the specifics of Private Pilot flight. Many aspects were covered ranging from Performance problems, Weight & Balance problems, Maneuvers, Emergencies, Cross-Country flight, etc. It basically prepares you to fly for the rest of your life by teaching you basic principles that apply to most, if not all, airplanes in everyday flight.

For the rest of your stay here, you will take AS 133, AS 232, and AS 272 which take you from your Private Pilot certification all the way to your commercial certification. All these courses are ground-instruction courses and they go together with your FA courses which are your actual flight labs. Around this basic knowledge, you will also be introduced to classes ranging from Aerodynamics, to Aircraft Engines & Turbines, all the way to Domestic and International Navigation and Crew Resource Management. The Aeronautical Science program has been tailored in a way that the airlines have asked it to be. Though all that is required of Aeronautical Science students is a “Commercial Multi-Engine Instrument” certificate, many go on to complete their CFI and CFII and even become flight instructors here at the school; this becomes a great option for those students who are interested in building flight time.

In your last year here, you will be put in a Canadair Regional Jet simulator course which teaches you the ins and outs of airline/regional carriers. By the time you graduate Riddle, you will have attained a broad, yet very well prepared curriculum that enables you to become knowledgeable enough to fly for an FBO and in many cases, the major airlines. It takes time to get to a major, especially in this day and age, and most use regionals as a stepping stone or as a way of getting their foot in the door. If you love to fly, you will attain your dream of becoming whatever you want to be if you want it enough. Flying at Embry-Riddle is expensive, but many will tell you that flying here is an experience of its own in that you are provided with many resources and much assistance in your flight course. I have never had any problems with flying here nor on the academic side of my education here neither, but flying here will prove to be expensive to most. I recommend looking into private external scholarships as well as grants and loans to provide money for your stay here at Riddle. It has become a problem for me in that I will be unable to attain my Multi-Engine rating before the summer as I wanted to, but I will come back in the fall with money in pocket so that I can finish it off.

Overall, it has been a fun and rewarding experience to fly, one that has been enjoyable since the first day. If you have any specific questions about the flight program here at Riddle, the Aeronautical Science department, or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in general, feel free to post a message on the message board. I will answer as soon as possible and make sure that your question gets answered. Thanks for your time and will write again soon.

Sergio