By Joselyn King, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. – An aviation program is about to take flight at West Liberty University, and the public is invited to the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport Saturday to learn more.
WLU and Marshall University are jointly hosting an “Aviation Day” event set from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the airport. Beginning this fall, the two schools will jointly offer an aviation program through WLU.
“We are excited to host Aviation Day, a unique opportunity to experience the thrill of aviation,” said WLU Provost Cathy Monteroso. “The event is designed to inspire and educate the community about the wonder of flight.
“The event will be a great way to jump-start West Liberty’s aviation program and visitors can learn more about the career opportunities in aviation,” she added.
The event is open to the general public and to those who might be interested in enrolling in the aviation program.
Once started, the program will train students to be commercial airline pilots, corporate pilots, cargo pilots. flight instructors and aerospace operations managers.
The idea to start a program at WLU came about as the nation faces a need for more trained airplane pilots.
It is estimated that over the next two decades, 143,000 new pilots will need to be made ready to fly commercial airliners to meet the demand for air travel, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cited by WLU.