John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
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The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (JDOSAS or UND Aerospace) is a part of the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The school was formed in 1968 and has become one of the premier flight schools in the world. The school's fleet of 80 aircraft is based at nearby Grand Forks International Airport and is one of the largest fleets of civilian flight training aircraft in North America. Today, the school has many aerospace-related programs including commercial aviation, air traffic control, and airport management. Other departments that are a part of the School of Aerospace Sciences include Space Studies, Computer Science, and Atmospheric Science. Currently, the school has over 500 faculty and 1,500 students making it the second largest of UND’s degree-granting colleges. The present dean of the school is Bruce Smith.
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[edit] History
John D. Odegard started the program in 1968 with only two donated aircraft and one other faculty member besides himself. Over time, the program was able to purchase more aircraft and grew dramatically in the number of students enrolled. In 1982, the Center for Aerospace Sciences was established as a result of the growth of UND’s atmospheric research and aviation education programs. In 1997, as part of a 30th anniversary celebration, the school took on its present name in honor of its founder.
The founder of the aviation program at UND, John D. Odegard, logged over 10,000 hours of flight time in his life and was licensed for commercial flight and instrument operations. He was type-rated in Cessna Citations, Learjet, and Beechjet, as well as being a CFI and certified examiner for commercial, instrument, tailwheel, multiengine, and Citation type-ratings. Having broken the sound barrier in the Concorde (as a passenger) and having flown as a crop-duster to help pay for college, Odegard was no stranger to the varied envelopes of flight. He was quite familiar with the many aspects of aviation and his vision for a well-rounded school which trains pilots in all aspects of flight helped the aviation program at UND become what it is today.
[edit] Facilities
UND Aerospace maintains top of the line facilities including the only 360 degree air traffic control tower simulator in existence, a remote learning classroom, and a wireless network that is available throughout the entire aerospace complex on the main campus and in any of the buildings at the airport.
[edit] Main campus
All School of Aerospace Sciences facilities on the main UND campus are connected by a series of skyways. Buildings here include Odegard Hall, Clifford Hall, Ryan Hall, and Streibel Hall. The complex also includes several other buildings including the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Skalicky Tech Incubator, and a Hilton Garden Inn hotel.
Odegard Hall is the main building in the School of Aerospace Sciences complex on campus. It houses most aerospace classrooms, the main office of the School of Aerospace Sciences, a spatial disorientation chamber, a decompression chamber (used to teach flight students about the effects of various human factors in flight), and the Atmospheric Science department.
Clifford Hall is home to a 360 degree air traffic control tower simulator, a few classrooms, and the offices of most of the on-campus aerospace staff. Sitting atop Clifford Hall is UND's Doppler radar.
Ryan Hall is home to UND's flight simulators. There are six Piper Warrior simulators and four Piper Seminole simulators. In addition, there are various simple instrument panel trainers and a basic instrument simulator CBL lab. Also in Ryan Hall is a radar simulator lab which is used to demonstrate radar based air traffic control. A set of 275 degree tower simulators round out the air traffic control simulations. Also at Ryan is a CRJ simulator which is used to provide a basic introduction to turbine engine systems and to prepare soon to graduate students for the pace of airline training. Finally, Ryan Hall is home to the remote classroom and several state of the art digital classrooms.
Connected to Odegard Hall by a large, windowed room is Streibel Hall. Streibel Hall is the home of UND's Computer Science department which has helped with many of the technological advancements that the aerospace school has made in the last 30 years.
[edit] Airport
The Grand Forks International Airport campus consists of the dispatch office where students request aircraft and are assigned to practice areas. The dispatch office opens out onto Bravo Ramp where the Seminoles, Arrows, Cirrus, and Decathalons are stored. It also connects directly to the display hangar where aircraft not in use are sometimes kept, and also where the Cheyenne and Beechcraft are generally kept. There are several other hangars lining Bravo and Charlie Ramp all owned by UND and used to hangar UND's large fleet at night.
[edit] Aircraft
UND Aerospace operates a fleet of 80 aircraft at Grand Forks International Airport and over 120 if aircraft stationed at several satellite schools are included. The fleet is comprised primarily of Piper Warrior III PA-28-161 aircraft. UND owns over 40 of these simple, light trainers. Many of them have been upgraded to "glass", allowing instrument students and CFI students to learn how to fly these aircraft. Rounding out the fleet on the higher end of aircraft, providing capability to train for complex and multi-engine ratings, are Piper Arrow PA-28R-200 with retractable gear and constant-speed propeller and the Piper Seminole PA-44-180 with twin engines. In addition, the fleet contains two Decathalons and a Piper J-4 Super Cub was sold and replaced with A Cub Crafters Top Cub for tailwheel training. The Decathalons are also used to introduce flight instructors to spins, a level of training experience that few flight instructors have an opportunity to get. On the higher end, UND Aerospace boasts a Beechjet 400A and a Cheyenne. UND has recently added a small number of Cirrus SR20-G2 aircraft, which allow students training in a highly digitized flight deck.
UND will also soon have an Eclipse Jet, which will allow students the opportunity to fly a turbojet aircraft at high altitudes.
[edit] External links
- UND School of Aerospace Sciences website
- University of North Dakota website
- Department of Space Studies website
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Grand Forks, North Dakota |
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| Academics: School of Aerospace Sciences | School of Law | School of Medicine | ||
| Athletics: The Fighting Sioux | Baseball | Basketball | Football | Hockey | Soccer | Volleyball | ||
| Facilities: Alerus Center | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center | Chester Fritz Auditorium | Chester Fritz Library | Energy and Environmental Research Center | Memorial Stadium | National Center for Hydrogen Technology | Ralph Engelstad Arena (old) | Ralph Engelstad Arena (new) | ||
| Media: Dakota Student | Fighting Sioux Sports Network | KFJM | ||
