Photo By Christopher Hennen | Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, the 15th Dean of the Academic Board, and Col. Rich Melnyk,...... read more read more
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The U.S. Military Academy uniquely prepares Army officers for the complexities of contested air and space domains. The academy offers several Aeronautical Engineering courses, known as the Academic Flight Program (AFP), as a sub-discipline of Mechanical Engineering.
The program was first introduced following World War I by then-Superintendent Douglas MacArthur as an applied learning model. Starting in 1970, the AFP has taken cadets far beyond the classroom — and into the sky — through applied and practical study.
“A significant highlight of this program today is the use of actual fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft as flight laboratories to demonstrate basic aerodynamic principles and validate theory,” Col. Rich Melnyk, AFP program director in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, said.
Available to all cadets, these courses provide a foundation for the continued contributions of West Point graduates in air and space.
Looking ahead to the future of warfare, West Point is advancing the AFP through the integration of two Cessna 206 aircraft. The Cessna 206 is an advanced, six-seat fixed-wing aircraft that will replace the two Cessna 182 planes that the academy has used since 1989 to support flight laboratories.
In December, Melnyk and Maj. Nate Humbert, an instructor in CME, along with Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dylan Ferguson and Chief Warrant Officer 3 John D’Elia from West Point’s 2nd Aviation Detachment, accepted the Cessna 206 aircraft during a transfer ceremony in Wichita, Kansas, and flew more than 1,000 miles to Stewart Airfield in Newburgh, New York, where they are currently maintained. On March 23, West Point held a ceremony for the aircraft dedication at the 2nd Aviation Detachment's Hangar, recognizing the academy’s prioritization of establishing a deep foundational knowledge in aerodynamic principles.
The dedication ceremony provided an opportunity to recognize West Point graduates’ air and space contributions over the past 100 years.
“From the inception of powered flight to current space travel, West Point graduates have been leaders in implementing aerospace technology,” Melnyk said.
The military’s first pilot, Lt. Thomas Selfridge, graduated West Point in 1903 and went on to learn how to fly directly from the Wright brothers. Two of the three astronauts on the Apollo 11 flight to the moon were West Point graduates, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (USMA Class of 1951) and Michael Collins (USMA Class of 1952). A 1973 USMA graduate and former assistant professor of Mechanics at West Point, retired Col. Bill McArthur, served as an astronaut on the International Space Station in 2006. Building on this legacy, West Point continues to seek ways to produce leaders of character capable and empowered to modernize air and space flight for modern warfare.
West Point’s ability to produce officers capable of having a significant impact throughout history is due in part to the academic program’s educational approach, paired with the prioritization of novel learning models like that found in the flight program. All West Point cadets study both humanities and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math courses as part of the core course sequence, regardless of major.
Every graduate earns a Bachelor of Science and studies at least one three-course engineering sequence. In addition to these requirements, the cadets have opportunities to study engineering more in-depth as an academic major — with more than 1,000 cadets choosing to specialize in aeronautical engineering through the AFP.
The flight program’s specific impact on cadet development is tremendous as viewed by USMA graduates.
“Sitting there having it explained while the aircraft is in flight allowed me to finally understand the more esoteric concepts covered in class,” a recent graduate explained. “It was a like a light bulb would come on and I couldn’t help smiling at finally understanding what the instructor was saying. Making the flight lab a lesson where the pilot basically teaches a lesson while the cadets are engaged in a hands-on flight experience is by far the best way to learn anything.”
West Point’s flight program takes “small class sizes” to the next level, giving individualized attention to every cadet in an intense immersive learning experience. The knowledge cadets develop in the classroom and in the lab provide the foundation for more advanced application.
“The fixed-wing flight laboratories provide a better understanding of aerodynamics, the fundamentals of flight and in-flight testing procedures that can be applied to all aircraft,” Melnyk said.
Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, the 15th Dean of the Academic Board, agreed with Melnyk’s assessment of flight laboratories that they are important to the learning trajectory of cadets.
“I cannot overstate the direct impact these flying laboratories have on our Army,” Reeves said. “The intuitions developed by cadets in these Cessna cockpits will forever shape how they understand the mechanics of flight. In the age of multidomain warfare, in the advent of contested cyber and space environments, it is imperative to have technically proficient officers ready to implement and modernize aerospace technology.”
Army officers must be able to operate between theory and reality to make sound decisions based on technical knowledge. With the Army operating more aircraft than any organization in the world, and organizational needs becoming increasingly complex, Army officers capable of leveraging this applied knowledge immediately following their commission is a strategic asset. West Point will continue to lead the way in air and space.
| Date Taken: | 03.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2022 11:12 |
| Story ID: | 417170 |
| Location: | WEST POINT, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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