HOUSTON -- One HISD school is taking learning to new heights. Students can now fly without ever leaving the classroom and it's helping create a new flock of teenage pilots.
Just four miles from the roar of Hobby Airport, classes at Sterling High School are in session. Desks are empty, but inside Mr. Smith's classroom, students like Tahchiona Smith are strapped in and ready to go.
Out her window she can see a digital downtown Houston, and she's in control.
"When I get in the airplane I just get this drive, I can't believe I'm really flying an airplane," she said.
She's flying in a brand new top of the line flight simulator found in only a handful of school districts across the country. They're new tools in the classroom that are changing the way these teenagers learn to fly.
"I know if I mess up, I can start it over," said Smith. "In a real airplane you don't have that choice."
Now students don't have to wait to step into an actual cockpit. On days when they don't get the chance to fly a real airplane, they can practice in the simulators at Sterling, logging real flight hours.
"It's an exact replica to the airplane," said Ronald Mejia. "The buttons and knobs are in same place. Once you jump into a real airplane you know exactly what you have to do."
Mejia has already earned his private pilot's license. He was just 17.
"Yes, I can fly before I can drive," said Mejia.
Smith hopes to be next. On our visit to her classroom, she flew us into Ellington Field while her teacher watched nearby.
"I do grade them on how they perform," said Mr. Smith. "They see it as a big video game, but they get to hone their skills. They love it."
And they take it seriously.
"It's really life or death," said Smith. "Anything that you do determines if you're going to make it or not."
They're learning real lessons about what it takes to be at the controls.
"It's like bringing the airport to us," said Mejia.
