The Bob Hoover Academy (BHA) has partnered with Redbird Flight Simulations to incorporate a Redbird FMX flight simulator into its curriculum. The two organizations will begin their partnership with an event at Salinas Municipal Airport (SNS) on January 10. Attendees will have the chance to view demonstrations by BHA students and pilot the flight simulator on their own.
The new Redbird FMX simulator will be incorporated into BHA’s existing program to introduce students to visual and instrument flight. The simulator will allow students to practice even when they cannot access the academy’s aircraft. Students will also use the technology to debrief flights and recreate flight paths to correct mistakes.
“Our partnership with Redbird is multiplying the scope and impact of the academy,” said BHA chairman and co-founder Sean D. Tucker, who is also a well-known aerobatic airshow pilot. “As with any program, time in our aircraft and with our instructor is limited by a number of factors. Simulation helps our students make the most of that time.”
BHA is based in Salinas, California, which has one of the state’s highest youth homicide rates. The academy has offered a full ground training curriculum and flight training program with one instructor and airplane under the Every Kid Can Fly program for a few years. BHA offers flight training as a way to introduce local at-risk teens to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
“Sean and his team have created an incredible program worth replicating throughout the country,” said Redbird COO and president Charlie Gregoire. “We’re proud to support their mission to transform lives through aviation, and we believe that our partnership will make growing that mission a reality.”