In the middle of a simulation, sophomore Haani Khan reacts in seconds as the hydraulics on his wings fail, one of the many emergency scenarios he trains for as an aviation student.

“I like big machinery and airplanes. It amazed me in the sense that they’re so intricate and that humanity was able to make something like that,” Khan said.

Khan is dual enrolled at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Attendees learn how to fly planes and what to do in an emergency. In class, future pilots utilize simulations to practice emergency situations, such as: hydraulics failure, power outages and landing gear failure. Khan also previously took private flight lessons over the summer to study air control and enhance his skill set.

“Khan doing dual enrollment gives me a lot of courage, in ways I could also do things he’s doing, like taking college classes, maybe start flying planes,” sophomore Christopher Eid said.

After he achieves 1,100 hours of experience, Khan could enter military aviation, gain his private pilot’s license and also join the Air Force Academy. Then, he can work commercial flights.

“He inspires me as a parent because he did things that I could have never done as a kid,” Father Rehan Khan said.

He’s memorized the phonetic alphabet; he also has a specific code to follow when talking to air traffic control. As an aviation student, Khan uses math and physics every day in class.

“The setback for me is the stress you’re under in emergency simulations,” Khan said. “But other than that, I enjoy what I have chosen to learn.”