Bob Hoover Academy

TO CATALYZE TRANSFORMATIVE LIFE EXPERIENCES IN AVIATION & EDUCATION FOR AT-RISK & UNDER-SERVED TEENS.

Summary: 2019 was another great year for the Bob Hoover Academy (BHA). We completed our fourth year in our unique public-private partnership with the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE). The full-time access to our students that this partnership provides has proven to be the foundation to the success of the program. 2019 was a year with increased community awareness of the BHA. 2019 Statistics: 31 Students, 217.1 hours flown, 230 flights flown, 2 solo flights, 115.5 simulator hours,144 simulator flights, and 168 volunteer hours. Flight Training: Inspiring students with flight continues to be the core mission of the Bob Hoover Academy. Chief flight instructors completed pre-solo flight checks for our students. In 2019 we had two students fly solo. In 2019, we flew 230 flights for a total of 217.1 flight hours logged. Flight Simulator: Utilization of the Redbird FMX flight simulator has continued to provide double the hours. With its inclusion in the daily use came a revamping of the student Flight Levels. We now utilize mostly simulator time for the newest students, with increasing mounts of flight time as they move up through the six flight levels.Each Cessna flight with a student takes 2 hours of instructor time and approximately 1 hour of flight time. This equals approximately $235 per visit. If each hour spent in the flight simulator replaces one flight lesson in the airplane, we saved $31,490 replacing 134 flights with simulator time in 2019. Additionally, we were able to serve more students because of this replacement. Often we have a student flying the plane while simultaneously a student is flying the simulator with a volunteer. Ground School: BHA continued to engage in the classroom in 2019 through weekly ground school lessons. One of our goals for 2019 was to work more closely with a classroom teacher to create a cohesive lesson. In June 2019, we attended the AOPA field test class in Maryland, as well as the AOPA high school symposium in November 2019. We taught the 11th grade field test curriculum Aug-Dec. The curriculum is well done and - when completed - can prepare students for the FAA written exam for Private Pilot. Volunteers: We are going strong through our second year of adding a volunteer program. It all began when a retired airline pilot asked if he could get involved. Since then, we have welcomed many volunteers. Each one completes the MCOE volunteer application, passes a TB test, and is fingerprinted for a background check. They are eligible to engage with our students upon completion and approval by MCOE. These volunteers are retired and current pilots. They have military and civilian backgrounds. They all share a few things in common: a passion for aviation, an understanding that our students need consistent time with trustworthy adults, and the commitment to love our students no matter their background. They are generous and kind, and we could not be more pleased with the outcomes of their time with our students. Volunteers contributed 123 hours of time in the flight simulator. In addition to this time, these volunteers have attended/taught our weekly ground school, chaperoned field trips, and we have one other volunteer who is our pre-solo check pilot. Events/Field Trips: In 2019: Women in Aviation International Conference in Long Beach; Volunteer and staff dinner; Trip to West Michigan Aviation Academy; Filming days for future promo video; Whole class field trip to Le Mans Karting in Fremont; Graduation; Summer School 2019; Attend AOPA 11th grade curriculum field test; Students attended EAA Air Academy at Oshkosh; Whole class field trip to Laguna Seca with Air Force Reserve; Students volunteered at Salinas EAA's Young Eagles event; Students volunteer and are honored by Jimmy Panetta event; Attend AOPA high school aviation symposium in Denver; Whole class field trip to United Airlines Maintenance Base at SFO.