Austin Courson received the “key influencer rider” designation
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A high school ag teacher recently experienced flying in a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
Austin Courson, who teaches the Unmanned Aircraft in Agriculture course at Tate High School in Cantonment, Fla., took to the skies after receiving the “key influencer rider” designation.
This designation is part of the Key Influencer Program, which “selects individuals who shape attitudes and opinions of youth in their communities,” a Blue Angels fact sheet says.
A member of the local business community nominated Courson, who also served as the 2009-2010 Florida FFA State Secretary, for the honor.
During his time with FFA, Courson helped the Tate chapter place within the top performing 160 out of 9,500 across the U.S.
“It was very humbling that someone recognized the work I’m doing and thought I deserved to fly with such a prestigious aviation program who show so much patriotism,” Courson told Farms.com.
FFA, Courson says, teaches students about issues going on in their communities and abroad, and helps improve skills like public speaking and provides leadership opportunities.
Courson took off on July 11 in the backseat of Lt. Connor O’Donnell’s Blue Angel #7 from NAS Pensacola.
His experience started with a thorough safety walkthrough and other instruction.
“They showed me the safety features of the plane, strapped me into the ejection seat and taught me how to breathe,” he said.
From there, Lt. O’Donnell performed a high-performance takeoff.
This is when a pilot climbs at a steep angle to clear barriers in the flight path.
“He went vertical and went up to 6,000 feet and then we turned over the Gulf of Mexico,” Courson said. “They took me through the entire show performance of the rolls and other maneuvers. When we pulled 7.7Gs, I passed out.”
For context, the Tower of Terror roller coaster at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, South Africa, has the world’s highest G-force on a roller coaster at 6.3Gs.
Back in the classroom, Courson shows his students the intersection between aviation and ag.
It doesn’t take long to find pieces of technology used in both worlds, he says.
“People think farming is so simple and that it’s just cows, sows and plows, but when you look at agriculture, we use a lot of science and technology and engineering skills that come from aviation,” he said. “The GPS sensors on tractors are just one example. But now with drones and UAVs we can use technology from aviation to revolutionize ag. It’s a huge eye-opening experience when the students see all the ins and outs and how we use these tools to produce the food our country needs.”
One of his former students is taking this information and furthering her education.
A student is studying at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to pursue an engineering degree with the goal of becoming a naval aviator.
“When you see your students out in industry being successful, you’re seeing your work being put to good use,” Courson said. “The student told me she wants to land a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier. It doesn’t get much better than that.”