West Grand Intern of the Month takes flight
Andrew Mericle/Courtesy Photo
For West Grand High School senior Aden Woog, not all education is at a classroom desk. He spends some of his school year in the air, getting a bird’s eye view of Grand County as he flies a Cessna 182 Skylane.
Woog’s love of flight prompted him to intern with Grand River Aviation, the operator of McElroy Field Airport in Kremmling. This educational opportunity is part of the East and West Grand School Districts’ joint Homegrown Talent Initiative programming. Woog has also been named the October Intern of the Month.
On Oct. 12, West Grand senior Carly Kellen visited the Kremmling airport to interview Woog about his pilot’s internship and learn what it takes to get into the air.
“Every time I’ve been in a plane in my life, I found myself looking out windows, smiling like a little kid in a candy shop,” said Woog, when Kellen asked him why he chose this unique internship. “It really made me want to pursue flight, and I feel like you get more freedom being in the air more than anywhere else.”
Woog is supervised by Keith Whitemarsh, the co-owner of Grand River Aviation and operator of Kremmling airport, and Steve Anderson, a local pilot and instructor. Each session, Woog practices pre-flight checks, taxiing down the runway, stalls, taking off and landing. He also usually gets an hour and a half of flight time, learning the controls and enjoying the mountain views.
“Just being in the air the whole time is exciting,” Woog told Kellen. “I enjoy it and would like to go farther into it.”
Inside the aircraft, Woog showed Kellen show to use the controls, yoke (steering wheel), throttle, brakes and instrument panel.
In addition to hands-on training, the pilot’s internship requires outside reading and research, so Woog can learn all aspects of aviation. He also gave advice to other students who want to follow a career in flight.
“Explore every opportunity that you have the chance to do, (like) any meetings, talk to people,” he said. “A lot of people know more pilots than you think. Pilots are everywhere, they just are more quiet than what you would expect.”
To watch the full interview and learn the details of flying a Cessna 182, visit West Grand School District’s YouTube channel, WGSD Media.
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