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McAllen ISD expanding aviation program

1 year 2 months 1 week ago Thursday, January 19 2023 Jan 19, 2023 January 19, 2023 8:57 PM January 19, 2023 in News - Local

The sky's the limit for McAllen High School senior Rohan Bhakta. On his radar is the dream of becoming a pilot.

“I wanted to do this since I was little,” Bhakta said. “Being able to feel the air, like being able to go up, see the whole city, like just the views, being able to take control of the plane, land it, it's just the feel that gets you going.”

He's earning his wings through the McAllen Independent School District’s aviation program.

Under this program, Bhakta and 11 other students are on track to becoming private pilots by the end of the school year.

McAllen ISD is the first school district in the Rio Grande Valley to offer the program. 

“The demand is through the roof,” McAllen ISD aviation instructor Hector Zuniga said. “The salaries for pilots are at an all-time high, pilots are very scarce and very hard to find.”

The students have already logged over 230 hours of flight time in the year-long program.

The program will expand to two years to offer students more in depth training.

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