Author: Jacob Burdette

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that on September 4, 2020, I had my first flight at Kent State. I just wanted to say I’m sorry in advance because I forgot to take pictures because I was so excited to fly. I got to Kent’s airport (1G3) at 7:45 in the morning for my 8:30 flight. My CFI let me do all of the preflight all by myself. After I did my weather briefing, I calculated the density altitude and figured out what my landing and take-off distances were. After I filled all of that out, I got to head out to my plane. For my Private Pilot course, I will be flying a Cessna 152 most of the time. Once I got to the plane, I disinfected the inside and then started my preflight walk around. After I did this, we had to fill up our fuel tanks which pushed back our departure time. After all of the preflight checklists had been completed, it was finally time to taxi to the runway. 

Once we finally took-off, my CFI showed me the corridors that we have to take to get to the training areas. Once we got to our training area, I practiced shallow/medium banked turn and also climbs and descents while turning. The first flight for me was to get a basic understanding and feeling for the controls. Once we landed, my CFI let me taxi back so I could get a feel for the controls. I kept wanting to use the yoke to turn the plane instead of the rudder.  During this flight, I logged .7 hours of flight time. I plan on coming to the airport on the weekends to fly in addition to my scheduled flight blocks during the week. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be able to fly and have a group of amazing supporters. I can’t wait to keep everyone updated with my training!

Hello Everyone. Today, August 27th marked my first day of classes at Kent State University. This semester I am taking Kent State’s ground school course along with their private pilot course. My CFI said that we are going to try and fly next week, but the date isn’t completely set yet because of the backlog of students from the spring semester who lost out on flight time due to Covid. I am so excited to start my new journey and take flight in life and I can’t wait to keep everyone updated.

Why I chose Kent State University (KSU). 

Let’s start with the location of Kent State. Kent State is located in Kent, Ohio which is about an hour south of Cleveland. It also is 45 minutes from CLE and 30 minutes from CAK. Since Kent is located in Northeast Ohio, the weather conditions are constantly changing. It can be snowing in the morning and 70° in the afternoon with thunderstorms in the evening. The changing weather will allow me to learn how to fly in any condition so I’m better prepared for the airlines. 

Kent State has the largest fleet out of any collegiate flight program in Ohio with 32 planes. Their fleet consists of 27 single-engine Cessnas (150,152,172R,172S,172SP), 2 Piper Seminoles, and 3 Piper Arrows. Kent State is also retiring some of their 172s and replacing them with brand new ones over the next 5 years. The Kent State airport is owned and operated by Kent State itself and is about 10 minutes from the main campus by car, so very convenient. Kent State owns all of its aircraft and also conducts all of its maintenance. 

Kent State has many accreditations. Kent State is the only aeronautics program in Ohio to be accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International. Kent State also has a restricted ATP, meaning I only need 1000 hours until I can fly for commercial airlines.  In addition, Kent State also has many connections with airlines. FedEx recently donated millions of dollars to the Kent State Aeronautics program to build a new facility at the airport. In addition, Kent is one of the few schools that are a part of the Delta Propel Program. Kent also has many connections with charter and regional airlines. 

Overall, Kent State has a great aeronautics program and I can’t wait to tell everyone about my flight journey!

-Jacob Burdette

I’ve had the opportunity to be able to use Sporty’s Ground School and their Air Scanner and have enjoyed every moment of it. The ground school has so much valuable information in addition to video quizzes to make sure I understand the material. Because of Sporty’s Ground School, my flight theory class at Kent State will be a review of what I have already learned. I also enjoy using the Air Scanner when I’m doing work in my room, and to help me learn the lingo of aviation. Overall, I enjoy using both of the materials and I would recommend them to anyone.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone for the support I have received over the last week after being selected to receive the FMA Solo scholarship. I can’t wait to start my journey and see the world from a new point of view. And now, a little more information about myself. I will be graduating from Olmsted Falls High School near Cleveland Ohio with an Honors Diploma and a Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish. I started playing trumpet in 5th grade and in 6th grade I started taking private lessons and continued taking lessons all the way until March of this year. During High School I was the lead trumpet of my band for two years, Band President for the 2019-2020 school year, and was a featured soloist for my Marching Band, Jazz Band, and Wind Symphony. I have participated in Solo and Ensemble all four years of high school and was awarded 1’s all four years for my Class A solos. I also participated in the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony for three years, two in the top group and multiple ensembles in the Cleveland area. He is a link to my YouTube channel where I post videos of me playing.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1ky6ddkV5U5jQ-T2NNXsqw

My trumpet Instagram is @Trumpet.try.hard

Now time to talk about my college and flight goals. In the fall, I will be attending Kent State University to study Aeronautics and become a professional pilot. Kent State is one of 12 Collegiate University to have a partnership with Delta and Kent also has a partnership with FedEx as well as many other regional and corporate airlines. At Kent State, I will be enrolled in their honors college and will be participating in their marching band and a concert band. I can’t remember when I began to love flight but for as long as I can remember I have loved to be on a plane. I have lived under the final approach for Cleveland Hopkins Airport since 2004 and have always admired the planes as they are about to land. Even though learning to fly is going to be a challenge, I can’t wait to face it head on and become the best pilot I can be!

Thank You Again

-Jacob Burdette