Students at Coppell ISD's New Tech High School are taking a new flight course that uses FAA-rated simulators. The simulators use a series of monitors and physical controls designed to mimic a plane. The course is only a few months old.
The program is designed to take students from the basics to flying an actual aircraft over four years. Senior Benjamin Burek said he will not finish the full program before graduating. He said he has long been interested in aviation careers and called aircraft dispatch "a pretty lucrative career."
Chris Fullwood, who teaches the program, said the software alerts students when they crash or blow a tire. These alerts, called infractions, pop up when a pilot is not flying the plane correctly. The school sits in the flight path of one of the world's largest airports, according to the story.