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Students Up In the Air
by Debi Smith
There have been highs and lows but the Smithers Secondary School's Aviation Maintenance Program is now in it's second year, and still flying and gaining altitude with every step. Thanks is owed to coordinator Ted Schmidt and course instructor Rick Friesen for becoming pioneers of a project that must seem at times as overwhelming as the first walk on the moon.
Just a regular Wednesday evening In class
Started as a pilot project in September 2001, the course was designed for grade 11 and 12 students interested in becoming airline mechanics, pilots, stewardesses, air traffic controllers, and baggage handlers.

Some signed up thinking they would learn how to walk down slim aisles serving drinks, but they quickly learned that was not the case. Their schedule includes learning primary flight controls, aeronautical charts and blueprints, electrical theory and radio avionics, just for starters. There were many drop-outs at the start of each season.
Tanessa, looking comfortable in the cockpit
High school credits are given for the classes but the students stay for the excitement of the field trips and activities. Those include helicopter rides, flights to Victoria, directing an airplane rolling toward you with handsignals (called "marshalling") and experiencing work "shadowing" with airlines like WestJet, Canadian Airlines and Central Mountain Air.

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