NICC owns and uses a Piper Cherokee 140 aircraft for its flight instruction.

The Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) is offering students the chance to become ground instructors and work toward their private pilot’s license this fall at the Martin Airfield in South Sioux City. Flight Instructor Richard Quandt will teach the courses Private Pilot Theory and Ground School as well as Ground School Flight Instructor Training. Quandt’s curriculum and extensive experience will prepare students to test for the first two exams required for a career in aviation.

            Every pilot starts with a private pilot’s license, whether they want to fly a small, single-engine crop duster or a massive four-engine jumbo jet for one of the big commercial airlines. Before aspiring aviators receive their private pilot’s license through the Federal Aviation Administration, they have to take a ground test. “We prepare students extensively for that ground test,” Quandt said. “We go over all aspects of the aircraft, from engines to weather, from rules to regulations. We learn the anatomy of the aircraft and study basic maneuvers that students will need to perform in order to get their license.”

            After students take their ground test, they have to pass a practical exam. “During our courses, we’ll get students up in the air and let them fly under our supervision. You need a minimum of 40 hours in the aircraft before you can take your practical exam, and we aim to get closer to 50 or 60 hours.”

            One of the biggest things that the NICC’s ground instructor program has going for it is the cost. Quandt explained that with current economic inflation, operating a training aircraft costs around $150 an hour between aircraft rental, flight instruction, and fuel. Given the 50 to 60 hours that students can anticipate in Quandt’s course, and with the ground exam preparation, the whole process would normally cost upwards of $10,000. At the NICC, students won’t pay any money at all for their private pilot’s license. The whole process, from ground exam to flight hours to practical exam, is free of charge. That’s because the NICC actually owns its own aircraft—a Piper Cherokee 140—and receives grant funding for fuel and other expenses.

            Cost isn’t the only incentive for students to consider pilot licensure at the NICC. On a national level, the job market is suffering from a huge lack of pilots. Quandt explained that this need extends from the smallest regional airstrips to the largest international airports. “The Baby Boomer generation is aging out of the profession,” Quandt said. “Pilots are in demand everywhere. A lot of the big jet pilots are retiring, so co-pilots have to move over to the pilot’s seat. The airlines then poach talent from the regional airlines, who in turn have to ask flight instructors to become regional pilots.” This intense demand for pilots means that students who go through Quandt’s courses at the NICC can expect their skills to be in high demand as they work their way up the ranks.

            “It does take a little time,” Quandt explained, “but it really doesn’t take all that long to go from private pilot to commercial pilot. Once you’re a commercial pilot, you’re making a good living and you’re learning more every day.” The sky is the limit in the airline industry these days; even at small, regional airports, flight evaluators, called “check airmen,” are being offered retention bonuses of almost $200,000 to stay on with their crews rather than move to bigger airlines.

            If a career in aviation sounds like the right maneuver for you, please contact the NICC or visit their website at www.thenicc.edu.