Destination: Kennedy Space Center
Delta Air Lines and the Organization of Black Aerospace
Professionals (OBAP) flew aspiring aviation professionals to the
John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL on the 11th
annual "Dream Flight" Wednesday. The flight is a highlight of the
Aviation Career Education (ACE) camp, a two-week summer program
co-sponsored by Delta and OBAP for minority teenagers with an
interest in aviation careers.
The camps, held primarily at Delta's Atlanta headquarters, teach
students aviation history, aerodynamics, meteorology, navigation
and flight simulator orientation with professional flight
instructors. Select graduates are invited back the following year
to participate in Flight Line, an in-depth seminar focused on pilot
training that allows students to perform solo flights during ACE
camp.
Delta also is in its 11th year of supporting ACE camps in
Minneapolis. Thousands of students, some of whom later became
commercial pilots, have been introduced to careers in aviation at
the camps.
As part of the final week of training, the Dream Flight takes
students on a daylong field trip to a major aviation facility. Past
trips have included visits to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola,
Fla.; the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton,
Ohio; and the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Last year, aviation
students visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington, D.C.
"The Dream Flight provides aspiring minority aviators with
hands-on experience and the opportunity to see our pilots at work
and ask questions," said Captain Steve Dickson, Delta's senior vice
president - Flight Operations. "We're very proud of this
partnership and believe the commitment of personnel, time and
resources has proven extremely valuable in the development of
future professionals and aviation enthusiasts."
Delta donated the use of a Boeing 757 aircraft for the trip,
which carried more than 155 aviation students to the Melbourne
International Airport. From there, they visited Kennedy Space
Center where they viewed the Launch Complex-39 Observation Gantry,
a four-story tower with a view of launch pads 39A and B, from which
all Space Shuttle flights depart, as well as the Apollo/Saturn V
Center, home of the 363-foot Saturn V moon rocket and mission
control consoles.
On Friday, students from the ACE and Flight Line camps will take
part in the 2010 graduation ceremonies at Delta's Atlanta Training
Center.