His missions may look like scenes from TV or the movies, but Lt. Clay Clary ('00, DB) is no Hollywood actor. He prefers working in the real world. That's why he chose the U.S. Coast Guard. "I knew I wanted to serve our country and help people," Clary says. "When I learned about the real-world missions that the Coast Guard does, I knew it was what I wanted to do. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction when I accomplish real challenges and save lives every day."

During his first tour in Los Angeles, Clary flew for drug enforcement operations off the coast of Central and South America. "Two of my deployments were like scenes straight out of Miami Vice. We were chasing bad guys as they were trying to throw drugs out of their boat to get rid of evidence," Clary says.

Today, flying an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter for search-and-rescue missions based out of Atlantic City, N.J., the stakes are just as high. In January, Clary was one of the first responders to the US Airways jet that landed in New York's Hudson River. Read more.

Read the full issue of LIFT.

 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University today announced it is gaining support for a multi-university Space Transportation Research & Development Institute (STRDI) as space industry leaders gather in Tallahassee for Florida Space Day today. STRDI, an initiative begun last year by the University, would bring together industry, academic, and government stakeholders to gain federal and state support to build a national center for space transportation research and development, similar to the FAA-sponsored aviation R&D centers based at Embry-Riddle and other universities. Read More.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Frasca International, a top manufacturer of flight training simulation equipment for all aircraft, today announced they will unveil the first integrated flight training device (FTD) with virtual air traffic control commands that will give student pilots more realistic training. Designed specifically for general aviation pilot training, the product called SAFTE™ (Synthetic Automated Flight Training Environment) with Virtual Air Traffic (VAT™) will be demonstrated at Embry-Riddle's National Training Aircraft Symposium, March 16-19 on the Daytona Beach campus. Read More.

 

Matt Chapman is an award-winning aerobatic pilot and a 26-year veteran of the airshow circuit. Matt's aircraft, named the Embry-Riddle Eagle, is a CAP 580 with a custom-modified 330-horsepower Lycoming engine. It can reach speeds in excess of 240 mph, pull up to 10 g's, and roll at a rate of 400 degrees per second - all within a few feet of the ground. In his "day job," Matt flies MD-80s as a captain with American Airlines.

Matt will be performing at the 2009 airshows listed below, and will be available for his fans at these events:

March 21-22 Florida Airshow, Punta Gorda
April 18-19 Cecil Airshow
April 23-25 Sun-N-Fun
May 2-3 NAS New Orleans
May 14-16 The Joe Nall
May 23-24 New York Airshow, Jones Beach
June 6-7 Indy Air Show
June 13-14 Ocean City Airshow, MD
June 14 New Garden, Pa (home show)
June 20-21 Dover AFB
July 28-31 Oshkosh
August 1-2 Oshkosh
September 5-7 Canadian Intl. Show, Toronto
September 12-13 Winston-Salem, NC
October 17-18 Cocoa Beach, FL
October 10-11 Sheppard AFB, TX

Find out more about Matt Chapman.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has launched an innovative peer mentoring program to help young women aspiring to become engineers successfully transition and succeed in their critical first year of college.

The program, called FIRST (Female Initiatives: Reaching Success Together) and funded by a grant from the Boeing Corporation, is helping to curb the dropout rate of female engineering students in their first year and give them tutoring in math and physics, special activities, and mentoring to better ensure their success during a demanding course of study.

"Females in the engineering programs tend to quit their major at a much higher and faster rate than males," says Joanne Detore-Nakamura, Embry-Riddle's director of diversity initiatives. "Pairing female freshmen with successful upper-class women, assigning faculty mentors, and engaging them in peer group activities helps them see they are not alone if they want to pursue their dream." Read more about the program.