Airline Camp Shows Students What It Takes to be a Pilot, Airport Mechanic and More

Marlowe Bradley taxied down the runway at Friedman Memorial Airport, then waited through eight traffic light changes at the stoplight at Fox Acres Road and Highway 75 until the air traffic controller gave her clearance.

Then, under the watchful eye of FAA-certified flight instructor John Strauss, the Wood River High School student pulled back the plane’s handle as the small plane climbed 3,000 feet into the sky. Over the next half-hour she took her passengers towards Magic Reservoir before turning over Silver Creek and following the foothills back to the airport.