It is the school’s first time to offer an aviation class and MHS is the first school in the CNMI to offer such a course.
“This is no doubt the first time we’ve had students enter the hangar. It is a great experience for them,” said Freedom Air manager Dennis Cruz in an interview.
“The students are really interested in aviation so I show them what to do to get into it,” said teacher John Raulerson. “I’ve taught them weight and balance of the plane, corrosion control, flight control units — just the basic stuff for now because there’s still a lot to teach them.”
Raulerson guided his students throughout the hangar with the supervision of Cruz and pointed out the parts of the plane they’ve been learning about in previous lessons.
The students got the chance to see inside the plane and bits of the mechanics.
Cruz permitted them to step into the craft, three people at a time. There was immense excitement among the class members.
Student Marylyn Waing said: “One of my reasons for signing up for Mr. Raulerson’s class is because I’d like to experience flying for the Air Force one day.”
Another student said the course is usually taught in universities but it isn’t necessarily too advanced for high school level students.
“It’s not so hard. It really depends on what you expect from the lessons. Also, it’s better to learn early so you’d be more prepared for the advanced aviation classes later on,” said Eufemio Feria, another student of Raulerson.
”I’m trying to apply for the Air Force so this course will be very useful to me,” he added.
Feria is hoping to be nominated by Congressman Kilili Sablan to the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Raulerson said the course is currently in a “research and development phase” and is only an enrichment group for students interested in learning aviation.
The class, which is not a graded course, is in touch with the Anderson Air Force Base on Guam and Raulerson is hopeful that they will be invited to take a look at military aircraft.
