AVTR - Aviation and Transportation

This general course is designed to acquaint students with the many aspects of and career opportunities in aviation and transportation industries.

This course is an overview of aviation security. It will provide various viewpoints concerning security including views from general aviation, the airlines, airports, and international aviation, along with the views of the traveling public and air cargo shipments. The course will assess elements of the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security oversight, and the role local authorities play in the aviation security framework.

This course introduces students to the basic principles of flight, aircraft systems and performance, basic meteorology and weather data interpretation, basic radio navigation, physiology, flight planning and decision making. This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

This course helps students prepare for the Private Pilot written examination through advanced study of the principles of flight, aircraft systems and performance, meteorology and weather data interpretation, radio navigation, physiology, flight planning and decision making.  This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Students obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to meet the requirements for a private pilot certificate with an airplane category rating and single-engine class rating. The lab consists of dual flight instruction, solo flight training and appropriate ground instruction. The credit hours will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Private Pilot Practical Exam.

Human factors encompass all of those considerations that affect people at work. This course provides a comprehensive discussion of the human factors involved in surface, maritime, and air transportation. It deals not only with an examination of human physiology, but also with an exploration of the interactions between people and their work environment, as well as between fellow workers and crew members.  The process of human decision making is extensively explored. 

This course focuses on visual identification of both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air aircraft, including private, corporate airline and military aircraft, as well as gliders and helicopters. The course also gives students appreciation of different classes of aircraft and their levels of performance.

This course provides a practical approach to the complex subject of aviation regulations. The focus is on the mission, functions and relationship of the various groups involved in the regulatory process.

From the beginnings of human flight through 1945, this course is a historical account of the people and their flying machines. The course also includes events and important dates that are likely to shape the future of aviation.

Subsequent to the conclusion of World War II in 1945, aviation technology accelerated the development and improvement of the jet engine, exploited the capabilities and performance of larger propeller aircraft and ushered in the realization of manned space flight. This course chronicles the achievements of the pioneers in flight, design and manufacturing who were instrumental in the aeronautical advances across commercial, military and general aviation.

This course provides an overview of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Topics include the history of UAS, regulations, industry and societal implications, career outlooks, ethical considerations, and the basic components required to operate a UAS. The course will also introduce hands-on UAS flight and operation principles through simulation and other means.

This course deals with the theoretical aspects of instrument flight. Ground school instruction includes basic principles of instrument flying, aviation meteorology, radio navigation and federal aviation regulations and a general understanding of the terminal en route instrument flying procedures. This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Students obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to meet the requirements for an instrument rating (airplane). Flight and simulator training in basic attitude instrument flying; VOR, NDB and GPS navigation; ILS approach procedures, holding pattern entry and procedures; and IFR cross country procedures are covered. The credit hours will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Instrument Rating Practical Exam.

This course covers basic meteorological fundamentals, including temperature, turbulence, icing, thunderstorms and clouds. The Aviation Weather Service Program includes various weather reports, forecasts and low altitude charts. 60 Contact Hours (45 lecture/15 lab).  Meteorological phenomena affecting surface and maritime transportation are also considered.

During this continuation study of atmospheric phenomena and their relation to aircraft operation, students learn the proper way to obtain a weather briefing, interpret high altitude charts and other information for flight planning purposes.

This course will provide lessons in advanced topics relevant to Transportation Administration. The student will learn to evaluate the process constraints and choices within global logistics to establish a plan linked to overall strategy. In addition, the student will understand natural dynamics within the supply chain to optimize performance and profitability, and the student will acquire basic concepts to align distribution and transportation options with supply chain strategy.

This course will provide an introduction to physical distribution/logistics as practiced in today's business environment. A student will acquire the basic concepts of physical distribution essential to the analysis of related business problems. In addition, the student will gain an appreciation of the role of logistics in the enterprise and its relationship to other value added/functional areas.

Students learn about routine and preventative aircraft maintenance that may be performed by owners and pilots, including, but not limited to, repair of landing gear tires, service of landing gear shock struts, service of landing gear wheel bearings, replenishment of hydraulic fluid, troubleshooting and repair of landing light circuits, replacements of bulbs or lenses and replacement or cleaning of spark plugs.

This course further focuses on the visual identification of transport category, corporate, military, and general aviation aircraft.  The course additionally explores the differing classes and category of aircraft along with their performance capabilities.

This course examines the common concepts of crew resource management as developed by major air carriers. Topics include supervision of crew members, counseling, accountability, coordination and relationship of authority.

A comprehensive examination of the U.S. national air traffic control system and how it affects aviation in general, and pilots and safety in particular, this course covers the air traffic control system (enroute, terminal and Flight Service Stations), air traffic control personnel, training, duties and facilities.

This study of aircraft systems includes hydraulics, air-conditioning, cabin pressurization, anti-icing systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, landing systems, flight control systems, fire-detection systems and pneumatic systems. Completion of the course gives students operational understanding of the system of high performance aircraft, including turboprop and other turbine engines.

A comprehensive study of transportation law, this course covers regulatory statutes and federal regulations. Students are also introduced to civil and criminal law as applied to transportation, including such aspects as operation, contracts, insurance, liability, litigation and case law.

This course assists students in preparing for the Commercial Pilot written exam. Classroom instruction includes advanced maneuvers, Federal Aviation Regulations, aerodynamics, weather and safe operation of aircraft. This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Students obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to meet the requirements for a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category rating and single-engine class rating. Students are introduced to commercial maneuvers and complex/high performance operations. The credit hours will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Commercial Pilot Practical Exam.

This course is designed to provide the student with the foundational and fundamental knowledge sets pertaining to aerodynamics. This course will improve student understanding of aerodynamic laws and principles.

This course focuses on the specific components of the Unmanned Aircraft System. Piloting and payload and sensor operations are covered along with datalinks and autonomous systems. Students will continue developing their operations skillsets as they determine which UAS role is appropriate for different scenarios. This course also introduces UAS Crew Resource Management (CRM) concepts, mission planning, and pertinent UAS regulations.

This course provides students with a more detailed simulation environment in which to operate. Students will effectively apply flight and systems operations skillsets along with CRM and mission planning to Line Oriented Flight Training Scenarios in a larger scale UAS simulator.

This survey of the historical developments of air transportation systems covers facilities; impact of regulations; problems encountered in commercial transportation; airline economics, management and organization; role of governments in air transportation; and economic, social, political, and future implications of air transportation. Human dependency on air transportation is ever increasing because of globalization of economies and the need to make great use of scarce time. It is therefore of prime importance for students in aviation, particularly those in flight, to study the development of the industry and how it affects society and the economy.

The motor carrier industry played an important role in the development of the U.S. economy during the 20th century. Students will study the structure of the market, the nature of competition within this transportation mode, the types of terminals utilized, and carrier rate negotiations. Students will study management functions in terminal operations as well as staff functions such as fleet management.

Railroads employ hundreds of thousands of people, accounting for over 40% of all ton-miles moved by all transport modes in the nation. The Chicago region has long been a major rail center for the country. This course will examine the issues facing this important industry, which continues to serve as a key economic driver for the region.

Timely issues dealing with various facets of technology and transportation are presented and discussed in courses meeting the needs and interests of students. Key topics courses are described below. All of these three-credit courses require the same prerequisites.

Topic 1:  Energy Distribution (3)

This course will examine how, given the urgent need for alternate sources of energy, particularly renewable sources, the field of energy distribution will take on greater importance. Students will explore the problems of conventional means of power (coal- and natural gas-fired plants), nuclear power, and developing wind, solar, and geothermal technologies as well as the methods that will be used to introduce these power sources into the nation's distribution network, so that power can be generated where it is most expedient and delivered to those regions where it is most needed.

Topic 2:  Pipeline Operations (3)

Pipelines account for over 16 % of the total intercity ton-miles shipped in the United States. They are a vital delivery system for oil, natural gas, and water. This course will highlight the operating and service characteristics of this vital mode of transportation through a study of the pipeline industry and its significance to the transportation industry since the end of the Second World War.

Topic 3:  Ocean Shipping (3)

This course provides an introduction to principles of international ocean transportation as practiced in today's business environment. A student will acquire the basic concepts applicable to the analysis of related business problems. Students learn ocean shipping operations (shipping options, vessel types and capabilities); ocean shipping business (key business drivers supporting shipping companies and the industry); and port operations (their essential role in ocean transportation).

The objective of this course is to prepare students to deal with safety issues as they pertain to the transportation industry through a comprehensive study and analysis of transportation safety programs.

This course provides an introduction to financial management problems encountered in transportation management. Topics covered include basic accounting, financial management principles, cash flow analysis, budgeting and financial statement analysis.

This course is designed to cover the principles of instruction, including the learning process, human behavior, effective communication, teaching methods, critique and evaluation. This course also assists students in preparing for the FAA Fundamentals of Instructing written exam. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

The course is designed to cover the principles of teaching, as well as the principles of flight instruction, including maneuvers. This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Students obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to meet the requirements for a Certified Flight Instructor certificate with an airplane category rating and single-engine class rating. Students also obtain the instructional knowledge required to teach, including the ability to recognize, analyze, and correct of common student errors. The credit hours will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Certified Flight Instructor Airplane practical exam.

This course is designed to prepare the student to teach instrument flying. This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Student obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to teach the principles of attitude instrument flying, ATC procedures and IFR navigation. Students also obtain the instructional knowledge required to teach, including the ability to recognize, analyze, and correct common student errors. The credit hour will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Certified Flight Instructor - Instrument Practical Exam.

This course provides study of unions, labor legislation, collective bargaining, contracts administration and conflict resolution in the transportation industry.

This course teaches students how to troubleshoot UAS anomalies. Students will also work in teams to develop and program a UAS to accomplish a certain set of parameters. Operations skillsets will be mastered as students are tasked with increasingly difficult scenarios.

Students learn about the duties of a flight dispatch officer. Topics include flight planning, aircraft loading and performance evaluation, airline flight dispatch operation, air traffic systems, flow control, scheduling, time management, aircraft weight and balance evaluations, and the Flight Dispatch Test for licensure. 195 contact hours. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 65.

This course presents an analysis of selected contemporary issues, problems and trends facing various segments of the transportation industry (manufacturers, government, and other stakeholders in surface, maritime, and air transportation). Students apply previously learned principles to practical problems in the transportation industry.

A comprehensive study of airport operations and management, this course covers analysis of the role of the airport manager in the daily operation of an airport, finance and administration, public relations, social, political and environmental considerations; operations, safety; and facility maintenance.

Few industries are as important to the economic and social well-being of a nation as transportation. Aviation is an integral part of the infrastructure of a global economy. This course explores the inner workings of the airline industry by unveiling the business practices of the captains of the industry, most of whom display great nerve and daring, and some of whom exhibit questionable maturity, motive, and judgment. The course serves as a primer on modern business practices and ethics and a history of one of the world's largest industries.

This course provides the student with an overview of security systems, existing and evolving, at the nation's airports. Every airport operator serving aircraft operation is required by the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration to provide a security program to maintain the integrity and continuity of the air traffic system. This course will describe protection criteria, crime prevention, perimeter security, and access control, along with policies and procedures that form the security infrastructure.

Multimodal transportation involves the use of two or more modes of transportation in moving a shipment from origin to destination, primarily through the use of a container. This multimodal service combines the advantages of each mode used. The growth of multimodal transportation has been aided by deregulation in the US and by growth in global business. Intermodal operations are the junctions where containers are transferred from one mode to another. Students will study the administrative and managerial aspects of these intermodal facilities.

This course provides the necessary instruction to thoroughly familiarize students with the theory of safe and practical multi-engine operation. This course helps students prepare for the FAA knowledge, oral, and practical examinations. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Students obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to meet the requirements for the addition of an airplane multi-engine land class rating to an existing pilot certificate. Students are introduced to multi-engine aerodynamics, operating procedures, systems, performance considerations and emergency procedures. The credit hour will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Commercial Pilot Multi-Engine Land Practical Exam.

This course provides a study of the general principles and procedures involved in an aircraft accident investigation. Students explore both FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) aircraft accident investigative techniques and how the NTSB determines probable cause.

This course provides the necessary instruction to prepare students to give multi-engine flight training. It also assists students in preparing for the FAA Flight Instructor-Multi-engine Flight Check. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 141.

Students obtain the aeronautical skill and experience necessary to teach multi-engine aerodynamics, normal and emergency operating procedures, aircraft systems and performance considerations. The credit hour will post to the student's transcript upon completion of the FAA Flight Instructor Multi-Engine Practical Exam.

This course covers air transport topics assessed in the FAA ATP and Aircraft Dispatcher Knowledge examinations. This course does not, however, fulfill all the specific training requirements of 14 CFR 156 for a student to be eligible to take the FAA knowledge exam. The overall goal of this course is to introduce aviation students to the larger environment of global airline transport pilot operations. Students learn about Federal Aviation Regulations aircraft systems, the theory of flight, aerodynamics, meteorology with respect to engine operations, and weight and balance computations.

A basic introduction to the Saberliner 40/60, this course covers normal procedures, emergency procedures, caution/warning lights, aircraft systems and limitations, performance, and 15 hours of flight in the Saberliner Simulator. Lab fees apply.

This course is designed to familiarize the aviation student with the systems on a particular aircraft. The aircraft type may vary from semester to semester. Substituting this course for AVTR 40900 and AVTR 42100 requires permission from the chief of pilot training.

Students will demonstrate mastery of the entire UAS Program.   Students are tasked with designing, building, testing, and further developing a UAS to complete a set of goals set forth by the student and professor of the course. Students also develop a project portfolio to showcase their skillsets to potential employers.

This is a capstone course for dispatcher certification. It includes a detailed review and practical applications of the skills required for Aircraft Dispatcher certification. Meets requirements of 14 CFR 65.

Individual controller positions will be explored in depth including the enroute (ARTCC), terminal (TRACON), tower (ATCT) and Flight Service Station specialist's responsibilities with respect to aircraft separation, inter-facility coordination and the expeditious, safe movement of aircraft. Additionally, an in-depth study of letters of agreement, position briefings and the use of departure, arrival and enroute progress strips will be included.

Equipment capabilities and limitations of radar will be addressed in sufficient depth to prepare future controllers for successful careers. Separation minima for radar and non-radar operations will be emphasized and reviewed as an integral part of the controller's core responsibilities. VFR & IFR operations will be differentiated and defined for a full understanding of their differences.

State of the art cockpits employ high technology "glass" avionics to enhance the flight crew's situational awareness, reduce workload and greatly increase and maximize efficiency in terms of fuel savings and equipment longevity.  This course addresses the challenges and benefits of various new-age cockpits in the air carrier inventory with particular emphasis upon the CRJ-200 flight management system.  Coursework in this class will strengthen students' knowledge and competency in an aviation environment dominated by these highly advanced flight guidance concepts.

Employing previous course work and acquired knowledge, an in-depth investigation of IFR flight operations and Air Traffic Control facilities services afforded VFR aircraft will be emphasized. Additionally, aircraft capabilities characteristics and performance will be addressed in order to provide each future air traffic professional with a keen understanding and anticipation of an aircraft crew’s responses to controller clearances and requests.

This course will survey current topics in Aviation security. Study will focus on selected policies, events and changes in regulations and legislation pertaining to security concerns and contingency measures. Topics will vary.

This internship is designed to provide on-the-job experience in an appropriate transportation agency. Students are supervised by the agency, and their progress is monitored by the department. Students must submit a report on the internship experience.

This internship is designed to provide students with on-the-job experience and skill sets in an appropriate aviation agency. Students are supervised by the agency, and their progress is monitored by the department. Three credit hours are earned at the satisfactory completion of all the requirements of the internship. The student must submit a report on the internship experience.

This internship is designed to provide students with on-the-job experience in an aviation/aerospace industry or a government agency. Students are supervised by the organization with which they are doing the internship and their progress is also monitored by the department. Students may earn a maximum of three hours of credit upon completion of the internship and submission of an intern paper or report.

This course is designed to meet the needs of majors in Department of Aviation and Transportation programs who want to study an advanced topic not found in regular courses.