Aviation at the Highest Level

By Jon O'Neil

Where can you go with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University?

Do you have your heart set on reaching an airline flight deck? Or is being an air traffic controller your dream career? Perhaps you can’t get enough of tinkering with airplane parts, or maybe you just want to work at an airline or airport to enjoy the fast pace and many perks of being part of the global aviation industry.

Whatever career goal you’ve set for yourself, Embry-Riddle can help you reach it. Here, you’ll be taught by experienced professionals and use the latest cutting-edge tools, including virtual and extended reality learning enhancements, to elevate your training and practical skills.

You’ll be instantly plugged into programs that can lead you directly into the aerospace industry and graduate with everything you need to launch your career with no delays.

To see where you could go, take a look at where some of our students are now. Can you picture yourself at Embry-Riddle?

Helicopter Pilot Helps Pioneer Hi-Tech Flight Safety Research

ELIZABETH MITCHELL

[Photo by Connor McShane, Embry-Riddle]

Elizabeth Mitchell (’22) began her journey at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University focused on becoming an engineer.

But a little more than two years ago, Mitchell decided that she wanted to learn to fly helicopters and ultimately switched her goal to earning the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science with a Helicopter Pilot Specialty offered at the Prescott Campus.

The switch also gave Mitchell the opportunity to become deeply involved in helicopter safety research, especially in the vital area of inadvertent flights from visual to instrument conditions – one of the causes cited by the National Transportation Safety Board in the crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

It’s the type of unique, hands-on opportunity that Embry-Riddle often provides its undergraduates, and Mitchell has made the most of it. “She has become the face of the program,” said Associate Professor Dawn Groh, the department chair of Aeronautical Science at the Prescott Campus. “Elizabeth routinely takes part in high-level meetings with professional pilots and safety experts, and everyone thinks she is a graduate student.”

The research project employs a virtual reality simulator to put pilots into scenarios where they suddenly lose visual contact with the ground or the horizon and will result in recommendations for the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team.

“It’s been awesome,” said Mitchell. “It’s been cool to be involved in all the pieces, from creating the scenarios and running people through them to learning about the administrative aspects of it, such as how to get funding. It’s really an incredible experience.”

Read more about Elizabeth Mitchell’s Embry-Riddle Experience: https://erau.edu/stories/eagle-turns-option-into-opportunity

Boeing Scholar Finds Her Spot in the Sky

SHADDI ABDALA

[Photo by Daryl LaBello, Embry-Riddle]

As an aspiring female aviator, Shaddi Abdala (’21) turned to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to get her aviation career off the ground.

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Abdala majored in Aeronautical Science and was the first in her family to pursue an education in aviation and the first to attend college in the U.S., thanks to the Boeing Scholars Program. When she set her sights on EmbryRiddle, Abdala was determined and committed herself to applying to every scholarship she could. She was selected as a Boeing Scholar and enrolled in her first semester in 2019.

“Being a Boeing Scholar gave me the opportunity to attend Embry-Riddle without the financial burden on my family,” she said.

Since beginning her Embry-Riddle journey, Abdala has earned her commercial pilot certification and multi-engine add-on.

“Some of the most memorable moments I have had at Embry-Riddle have been passing my check rides and receiving my flight certificates – the relief and joy of knowing that all the hours spent studying and training had finally paid off,” she said.

When she wasn't in the sky, Abdala was heavily involved in the campus community. She was a member of the Student Government Association and Latino Pilot Association and was also affiliated with the Women’s Ambassador Program, the Empowering Latina Leader Aviators Subcommittee (ELLAS) and Women in Aviation.

“My goal is to always inspire and share my knowledge with those around me to grow the aviation community,” she said.

Read more about Shaddi Abdala’s Embry-Riddle Experience: https://erau.edu/stories/boeing-scholar-pursues-childhood-dream

Technology Helps ATC Student Explore the “Other Side of the Radio”

CONNOR COOK

[Photo by Connor McShane, Embry-Riddle]

Connor Cook’s (’22) true aviation passion is controlling aircraft, not flying them. And Embry-Riddle’s Bachelor of Science in Air Traffic Management is how Cook is turning that passion into a profession.

“I am in the hiring process with the [Federal Aviation Administration],” Cook said. The leading-edge technology used in Embry-Riddle’s labs enables students such as Cook to get a real-life look at how the ATC system works and the key role that controllers play in keeping it functioning efficiently and safely.

“[The ATC simulation software] gives us the 360° view of any airport that we can bring up,” he said. “At first, it was kind of shocking really, because I had never been in the tower before and seen something like that. We could go to LaGuardia. We could go to LAX. We could go to Chicago. So just a lot of switching back and forth and seeing how it looked from the towers was cool.” Besides just being cool, the state-of-the-art labs and simulators are the best way to prepare future air traffic controllers for the realities they will face, whether they work in a tower, a TRACON or an Air Route Traffic Control Center.

“It went beyond what I expected,” Cook said. “But it also helps tremendously because you’re prepared and know what to expect. And you’re learning a lot about how to manage. I think it definitely puts you a step ahead of everyone else.”

Read more about Connor Cook’s Embry-Riddle Experience: https://erau.edu/stories/atc-student-explores-the-other-side-of-the-radio

A New Horizon in Flight Training

MARTIN KURKCHUBASCHE

[Photo courtesy of Martin Kurkchubasche]

For Martin Kurkchubasche (’20, ’23), flight training at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has gone way beyond the flight deck. After graduating with his B.S. in Aeronautical Science and the full suite of pilot ratings, Kurkchubasche is today the Aviation Safety Program Manager at the Prescott, Ariz., campus and is also pursuing his Master’s in Business Administration in Aviation.

Along the way, he’s also gotten involved in cutting-edge research work that explores how effective virtual reality can be in all types of primary aviation training. In late 2019, Kurkchubasche began working with Embry-Riddle instructor Dr. Michelle Hight, who is now Senior Manager of Human Factors & Cross-Fleet Training at Hawaiian Airlines.

The initial study into using VR to augment fight training had just started when the pandemic hit and shut it down. Using an IGNITE grant from Embry-Riddle’s Office of Undergraduate Research, the team began to develop what ended up being an experimental course for the College of Aviation.

Kurkchubasche joined Dr. Hight among the authors of the study, which was published in January. Now, building on the kind of undergraduate research opportunities only Embry-Riddle can offer, Kurkchubasche is exploring further research into VR as a flight training device in addition to his work as a safety professional.

“We’re starting small with one computer and one station, and then we’re going to see what it can do,” Kurkchubasche said. “As this technology starts to improve and get more accurate and more realistic, I sure would hope that we would have the ability to start using it more.”

Read more about Martin Kurkchubasche’s Embry-Riddle Experience: https://erau.edu/stories/reshaping-the-future-of-flight-training

From VR to VFR: The Technology Edge at Embry-Riddle

NEVADA RANDALL

What makes flight training at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University so unique and effective? For Nevada Randall (’25), it is leading-edge technology that is making the difference in the journey toward a seat on the flight deck.

Randall, a freshman in the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science program, credits Embry-Riddle’s unique PILOT, or Pre-flight Immersion Laboratory for Operations Training program, with helping him nail down his private pilot’s license in his first semester.

“The technology provided by Embry–Riddle is incredible,” said Randall, a native of Golden, Colo. “I feel like the technology is exactly where it needs to be to make virtual reality and simulator training as effective as real aircraft time.”

That’s among the goals of PILOT, which first rolled out in the Fall 2021 term. Incoming flight students spend their first four weeks learning preflight, checklist and flight procedures in VR environments, then continue to work with their flight instructors to complete oral

and simulator activities. Making the transition from VR to real flying was “seamless,” said Randall, who believes that the Embry-Riddle advantage extends beyond technology.

“The vast knowledge that Embry-Riddle has accumulated through its rich history of flight training is evident in everything you do, from the way the instructors behave and teach, to the way that the curriculum is shaped, to the safety structure that has been built around pilots,” said Randall, who earned his instrument rating during the Spring 2022 term. “It is one of the safest and most knowledgeable flight schools, in my opinion.”

Read more about Nevada Randall’s Embry-Riddle Experience: https://erau.edu/stories/the-fastest-route-to-the-flight-deck

Aspiring Aviator Sets Her Sights on the Flight Deck

EMMA KIRSCHENHEITER

[Photo courtesy of Joey Harrison, Embry-Riddle]

Emma Kirschenheiter’s (’25) passion for flying came out of the blue.

It started with an introductory flight at an FBO in her native Long Island, which led to joining the aerospace and flight club at her high school and, ultimately, to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s renowned leader in aviation and aerospace education.

Although Kirschenheiter can’t say why the flying bug bit her, she is thrilled that Embry-Riddle is now helping her turn her new passion into a lifelong profession.

The successful start to her flight training has Kirschenheiter currently charting her career course and counting on Embry-Riddle’s vast connections to the aviation industry to help her get there.

“My ultimate goal is to fly for a major airline, and Delta Air Lines would be an ideal option,” she said. “I aspire to get into the Delta Propel program and one day become a captain. Embry-Riddle is one of Delta’s partner institutions and will set me up for success in my future endeavors.” Kirschenheiter credits Embry-Riddle’s unique PILOT, or Pre-flight Immersion Laboratory for Operations Training program for the vital preparation it has provided. The program, launched in 2021, lets incoming flight students spend their first four weeks learning preflight, checklists and flight procedures in VR environments.

“Although the PILOT program is rigorous and time consuming, with dedication, hard work and perseverance, it is all possible,” she said. “My experience in the PILOT program has been an amazing beginning to my journey in the aviation industry.”

Read more about Emma Kirschenheiter’s Embry-Riddle Experience: https://erau.edu/stories/aviation-aspirations-have-this-student-pilot-soaring