OAKLEAF – Class is in session, but it’s a cacophony of hammers and drills in a workshop on the left and gauges and charts from the screens of flight simulators on the right.

The Aerospace Academy at Oakleaf High is a balance of maintenance, flying and all things aviation industry. It’s overseen by instructors Ellis Bowler and Shawna Hendrix, who come from military and civilian backgrounds in the field, respectively. The program also covers everything from drones to air traffic control, and it offers dual enrollment.

The workshop resembles an airplane graveyard with wings, engines and airplane skeletons. The computer lab pilots are reviewing checklists to maneuver their planes. 

Hendrix, who also has experience with NASA, said her students are phenomenal. She said the program has an emphasis on community service and students need 30 hours. They work school events, airshows and wash airplanes. They also assist local elementary schools and events like the Clay County Fair.

“They’re hard workers. They’re extremely creative and they’re really funny,” Hendrix said. “And they will step up and volunteer and do anything.”

A retired U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, Bowler said aviation isn’t inherently dangerous, though it is very unforgiving. Bowler teaches a drone-based course and said the drone field is experiencing a wave of innovation similar to what the 1930s was to planes.

He referred to students as enthusiastic young adults. The aviation industry is rife with transition and change, as pilots are aging out of the commercial sector, he said.

“There’s a very high demand for pilots, and for maintenance workers for the same reasons,” Bowler said. “The average age for a maintenance person is 55. There’s this huge draft going on right now, if you will, in the commercial industry for both maintenance and flying.”

Senior Jacob Russell said every part of the program clicked with him like the guest speakers, field trips and flight simulators. He said the discussions are in-depth, but the standards are exacting.

“The difference between this course and a lot of other courses is they don’t like late work. Because if you’re flying an airplane, you can’t call a tower 600 feet from the runway and be like, ‘Hey can I land?’” Russell said. “That’s not how it works.”

Eduardo Albaladejo said Hendrix and Bowler inspire their students. Like the others in the program, he’s looking at careers in the field.

“I like the hands-on experience you get working on a variety of projects,” he said.

Maya Stracuzzi, a junior, said the courses are taught in a way that applies to students’ lives. From her perspective, the courses are unpredictable and aren’t strictly by the book.

“It’s always more exciting and fun than just a normal class,” she said. “It’s entertaining. You learn things that are beyond aerospace, it’s an overall type of class.”