West Liberty’s fledgling aviation program took a major step forward recently, as five of the program’s students completed their inaugural solo flights.

Brady Bauer, Luke Miller, Jeremy Ratcliffe, Isaiah Zelaski, and Brock Bauer each took to the air for that significant milestone in their education.

“A first solo flight is a defining moment in every pilot’s training,” said Tasha Taylor, WLU Aviation coordinator. “It represents not only the technical skills our students have mastered, but also their confidence and readiness to take the next steps toward a professional aviation career.”

The WLU aviation program, which launched in partnership with the Noe Flight School at Marshall University, is an innovative new offering at West Liberty. It helps fill the regional and national need for trained pilots. It creates a partnership not just with Marshall but with the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport. It also allows WLU to stand out in a competitive college marketplace.

These first flights are concrete evidence that the university’s young program is growing the way it should. Those five pilots in training serve as an example to future aviation students.

So bravo to those five . Hopefully many more in the future will join them in the skies via West Liberty University.