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Media Relations
Kansas State University
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Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu
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Source: Troy Brockway, 785-826-2699, troyb@k-state.edu;
and Mitchell Wagner, 817-721-6632, mwags@k-state.edu
Photos available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Abigail Crouse, 785-826-2642, acrouse@sal.ksu.edu

Friday, August 29, 2008

K-STATE AT SALINA AVIATION STUDENTS PRACTICE FLYING OVER MOUNTAINS

SALINA -- Summer can be an "elevating" experience for aviation students at Kansas State University at Salina.

Troy Brockway, associate professor of aviation at K-State at Salina, took a group of aviation students west this summer to fly high in the Rockies. It's the ninth year Brockway has conducted a class on mountain flying.

The class begins with one day of ground school, followed by four days of flying in Colorado. Class members fly to Gunnison, Leadville, Telluride, Aspen, Vail and Paonia.

"My favorite part of the class was going to the really cool airports," said Mitchell Wagner, a professional pilot major from Keller, Texas. "I'm talking Leadville, the highest elevation non-military airport in U.S.; Aspen, famous for its challenging approach; Telluride, known for its awesome scenery on approach; and our home base, Gunnison."

During the Colorado flights, the students learn how to contend with reduced aircraft performance caused by high-density altitudes; the physiological effects of high altitudes; cross-country flight planning in the mountains; negotiating mountain weather; and operations at some unique airports.

"Flying in the mountains is not necessarily harder," Wagner said. "The hazards are not knowing what to expect or how to deal with the degraded performance."