Alamo Liaison Squadron board members met briefly with Ken Knox of Virtual Flight Academy during the first ALS board meeting of 2025. Knox is associated with a start-up aviation program at three local high schools that involves use of flight simulators and a substantial number of students. Knox requested an audience to present his ideas and noted he was “looking for a few pilots willing to help mentor” his students.
A broad reaching program, Virtual Flight Academy has set out to inspire youth to become involved in aviation and in particular to pursue a career as pilots with the U.S. Air Force. Knox noted that the field of aviation, and that of commercial pilot in particular, is strong and competitive at present with the need for qualified pilots increasingly robust. His hope is that the program will provide a career path for young students with not only early access to the world of flying but in the process open doors to future work in the field of aviation both military and civilian.
Virtual Flight Academy is building high school teams that will compete in flight simulation exercises. Based in Atascosa County, Texas, south of San Antonio and nearby Randolph Air Force Base—a pilot training base since opening in 1931 and presently serving as the military’s premier base for pilot instructor training and combat systems officer training—the Virtual Flight Academy initiative seeks to involve youth in grades 9–12. Three school districts in the county will provide training, over a 16-week period, in the basics of instrument flight using advanced, commercial off-the-shelf flight simulators. Structured as an afterschool activity, the program is modeled on the framework of high school sports teams whereby kids must “pass to play.” Practice will take place twice a week for two hours per session led by volunteer pilots from the local area and virtually with volunteer pilots from across the nation.
The culmination event will be the 2025 VMax Championship hosted by the 559th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph. In a team format, competitors will complete a written Boldface / Ops Limits test and then fly a basic instrument profile graded against the same standard used by the USAF in Undergraduate Pilot Training. Points will be awarded for each maneuver that meets USAF course training standards, and scores will be combined into an overall team score. The team with the highest point total will be crowned VMax Champion for the 2025 season. Additionally, professional pilot scholarship opportunities will be awarded to each member of the winning four-person team.
Young men and women in grades 9–12 from Pleasanton, Poteet and Jourdanton High Schools are encouraged to participate.
With a global demand for pilots exceeding global supply for at least the next ten years, this program seeks to attract and retain youth interest in aviation careers.
“It was good talking with you this morning, sir. I’m attaching a one page overview of the Virtual Flight Academy Vmax 2025 Competition program. I am requesting any assistance you can give in trying to solicit this information to your membership in the hopes that we might get one or two people to help volunteer as mentors and instructors for high school students from grades nine through 12 at Pleasanton, Poteet and Jordanton High schools from 13 January to nine May. They are not required in any way to be flight instructors or instrument qualified to participate with us as this is primarily a youth engagement program focused around getting kids interested in aviation careers. I will try to set up a meeting virtually for the second week in January. Please let me know if anyone is interested in participating with us. I look forward to speaking with you and working with you in the future.” – Ken Knox, Virtual Flight Academy