Aircraft Pilot Air Traffic Controller Airline Sales Rep Aircraft Mechanic

Flight Instructor Airport Manager Aircraft Sales Aerial Photographer

The use of aircraft is growing nationwide on many fronts; passengers, cargo business and agriculture in particular. The air carrier industry, which includes scheduled airlines transporting people and cargo, is in a period of dynamic growth worldwide. Currently aviation aircraft has shown a dramatic surge in sales.

 

Curriculum

The Aviation Department offers ground instruction for the Private Pilot Certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certificate, Flight and Ground Instructor Ratings and Glider Pilot Certificates.

Many of these courses are offered both in day and evening classes. The actual flight training is taken at an FAA approved flight school of the student's choice.

 

Professional Pilot Certificate

Course	Title	Units
AVIA 132	Private Pilot	4
AVIA 136	Air Navigation	3
AVIA 140	Meteorology	3
AVIA 144	Aircraft and Engines	3
AVIA 196	Ground Trainer Lab	1,1
AVIA 232	Instrument Rating	3
AVIA 240	Commercial Pilot Seminar	3
AVIA 244	Aviation Instructor	3
Total Units		26-27

This curriculum is designed to prepare the student to a proficiency level required for entry into the commercial pilot profession. To qualify for the certificate, the student must have attained the FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate with instrument and flight instructor ratings. A certificate may be earned by students who have completed all required courses with at least a grade of "C".

 

Facilities

The Cypress College Aviation Department is housed in well equipped classrooms which together with five Flight Training Devices (ground trainers), provide a contemporary environment of unmatched facility capability. The FTD's serve in both instrument flight classes and the other pilot classes as training devices in maintaining pilot proficiency.

The Aviation curriculum is aligned with industry requirements through an advisory committee. This group is composed of leaders from airlines, the FAA, and general aviation flight training as well as business flying and airport operations and management.

Cypress College Aviation students also participate in a number of extra curricular activities. Cypress has an active chapter of Alpha Eta Rho, the international aviation fraternity, and a precision flying team which participates in the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Flying Association and the National Intercollegiate Flying Association. Opportunities for flying gliders and model aircraft are also available.

 

Requirements

A career in aviation demands dedication to safety, service, and high standards of proficiency.

Excellent health (no waivers), vision corrected to 20/20, learning ability, temperament, attitude, appearance and the ability to get along with others are some of the personal characteristics needed to succeed in an aviation career. For the requirements on attending Cypress College, click here.

 

Aviation at Cypress College

Started in September 1967, the program was housed in it's own temporary building. The program was moved in 1971 to Technical Education II, designed and equipped with the new special needs of this unique program as an architectural guide.

We offer courses to complete the requirements in preparation for the knowledge examinations required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for most pilot certificates and ratings, and develops a well rounded aviation background for both pilots and non-pilots alike. We also offer opportunities for periodic retraining and update for those within the industry. The Aviation Curriculum includes courses which make up the Aviation Certificate, Occupational and Transfer programs with emphasis on the professional pilot and/or aviation management majors.

Cypress College Aviation program graduates can be found in all branches of the military and in the cockpits of nearly every airline in the United States, many as Captains or Instructor Pilots. General Aviation (all flying except the military and the airlines) is another career area where many Cypress graduates are found.

Aviation careers, specifically pilots, have been on an ever-changing cycle. The airlines have changed a great deal in the last 30 years. Mergers, bankruptcies, new airlines, the growth of some older but smaller airlines and a whole new segment of air transportation, the commuter airline (several hundred nationwide) has developed in this same period.

The bottom line is: more people are depending on air transportation than ever before. The airline fleet has more airplanes than ever. Record setting pilot hiring has taken place from 1994 through 1999 (nearly 70,000) and is forecast to continue. The military, which was the source of many pilots in the past, has drastically reduced their numbers, causing a very low number of pilots to be available now and in the future.

The training of future airline pilots has been left up to General Aviation. We are proud that Cypress College Aviation program is part of that General Aviation training, offering ground schools and ground flight training devices (FTD's) to go along with the flight training offered at our local airports.