University student Jack Steinhauer received his private pilot’s license through the Lane Community College Flight Technology program and is working toward commercial and flight-instructor certificates. He hopes one
Jack Steinhauer’s classroom moves at more than 100 miles per hour, thousands of feet above the ground. His classroom is like no other: It’s an airplane cockpit.
Steinhauer is one of many students who enjoy this setting regularly through the Flight Technology program at Lane Community College.
“Nothing is better than getting up in the air after a long day at school,” Steinhauer said. “It’s a great feeling when it’s just you, the plane, the horizon and no one else.”
LCC’s two-year program is designed so students with no flying experience can enter the workforce as professional pilots. Most students who go through the program earn a private license, a commercial license, an instrument rating and, finally, a flight-instructor certificate.
After flying at LCC for more than a year, Steinhauer earned his private license and is now working toward receiving his commercial and flight-instructor certificate by the end of this fall.
To be hired as a pilot, a commercial license is technically enough. However, flight instructor Jonah Miller said the competition is such that pilots who get hired by most companies usually have at least 2,500 hours in the air. Many students, like Steinhauer, choose to instruct to get these extra hours.
Commercial airlines also favor individuals with a four-year degree. Flight department head Dr. Harvey Birdseye said 95 percent of pilots in the sky today have at least a bachelor’s degree.
For this reason, LCC has an agreement with both the University and Oregon State University so that students training at LCC can receive a bachelor’s degree at the same time.
Steinhauer, along with LCC students, is enrolled at the University.
Steinhauer said that in working toward a degree in finance, his ultimate goal is to own and fly for a company of his own.
However, concurrent enrollment does get challenging. Between flying at the airport and classes at the University, Steinhauer averages at least 20 credits per term.
But discouragement is not part of the process.
“They say that the sky is the limit,” he said, “And it really is.”
Athanasios Fkiaras is a freelance reporter for the Emerald.
