Joel Kirk

The Fairmont State University Aviation Center of Excellence will honor its second cohort of United States Air Force Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps cadets at a graduation ceremony to mark the completion of their training. The ceremony will take place on Friday, July 29 at 3 p.m. at the Fairmont State University Hangar B, Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center in Bridgeport.

The Fairmont State University Aviation Center of Excellence is preparing to welcome its second class of cadets to the summer 2022 U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps Flight Academy, comprised of eight incoming high school seniors from across the nation. Summer 2022 cadets will report to the Fairmont State main campus on Saturday, June 4 where they will reside for the entirety of the eight-week program.

Fairmont State will honor its inaugural cohort of U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps cadets at a graduation ceremony to mark the completion of their training at the University on Friday, July 30 at 3 p.m. at the Fairmont State Aviation Hangar in Bridgeport. 

This week, the Fairmont State University Aviation Center of Excellence welcomed its inaugural class of cadets to the summer 2021 U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps Flight Academy, a program that is offered by just 25 universities across the country through a partnership with the U.S. Air Force.  

“Every one of these cadets is so sharp, and you can really see their promise,” said Joel Kirk, Chief Pilot and Fairmont State Aviation Center of Excellence Director. 

Fairmont State University and the Fairmont State Aviation Center of Excellence honored Fairmont native and donor to the University, David McRobie, at a press conference and dedication ceremony on Friday.  

Fairmont State’s Aviation Center of Excellence is the first and only (CFR) part 141 established collegiate pilot training program in West Virginia, a designation enabling the program to offer students Federal Aviation Administration approved and structured training, syllabi, training aids and facilities, allowing for a reduction in required training hours.  

The Fairmont State University Aviation Center of Excellence is preparing to welcome its inaugural class of cadets to the summer 2021 U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps Flight Academy, comprised of incoming high school seniors from across the nation. The selection process for the AFJROTC Summer Flight Academy is highly competitive, with all cadets meeting the components required of U.S. Air Force Academy candidates.

Scrawled in permanent marker on a scrap of a t-shirt is the scene of the runway at the North Central West Virginia Airport in Clarksburg as Kevin Webb remembers it on August 15, 2018: the day he successfully flew an airplane by himself and literally propelled his career as a student in Fairmont State University’s Aviation Professional Flight program to new heights.  

Long-time pilot and entrepreneur Don Judy has established a scholarship for Fairmont State University students seeking their commercial pilots license, the first of its kind at Fairmont State.

Judy, a sawmill owner who has been flying since the 1960s, retired in March after 30 years as a designated pilot examiner.

For many of us, getting into an airplane to travel around the country and even the world is becoming more common but pilots to fly those planes are becoming harder to find. Fairmont State University is working to fill that need by training students on their brand new 2017 Cessna 172 Skyhawk.