Reedley College flight science students continue in-person learning with new changes
Classrooms may be closed, but for Reedley College's flight science students, school is very much still in session.
REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Classrooms may be closed, but for Reedley College's flight science students, school is very much still in session.
When Reedley College shut their doors, flight science student Lorenzo Rios says the course was unclear.
"You've got people talking to you on the radio, you got to make sure the plane is staying coordinated, there's a lot of stuff going on," said Rios. "So, it's really easy to lose some of those skills if you stop flying."
While most classes were moved online, the nearly dozen flight science students are some of the only ones reporting for in-person learning, since it's deemed an essential business.
"We are a flight school, we're an airport operation, and it supports the air carrier," said Program Coordinator John Johnson. "If you stopping training in the middle of earning a pilot's certificate, your skills get rusty."
Classes look very different for these students.
"As soon as you walk in, you put hand sanitizer on, you get the sanitation bottles, you're following your social distancing protocols," explained Rios.
"We take advantage of disinfecting the airplane before every flight, wearing masks, we try to keep the door open as long as we can before taking off," he added.
They say the new normal is worth it for the chance to keep flying.
"There's a couple of extra steps we have to do, but at the end of the day, you still get to fly," Rios said. "I'm willing to take a few extra minutes every day to follow the protocols wear the mask."
As for Rios, he'll graduate with Associates in Flight Science this July.
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