Aiming high with the students
On June 18, students and professors from the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management got a bird's-eye view of the world at the air show in Görlitz.
On Saturday, June 18, 2022, students and professors from the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management gathered for the air show in Görlitz.
Under bright sunshine and a blue sky, 10 students from the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management set off for the Görlitz airfield with Prof. Jörg Kroschel, Prof. Matthias Fichna, and Prof. Sebastian Zips. After touring the aircraft, the students had the opportunity to admire the city of Görlitz and its surrounding countryside from the air during various sightseeing flights in different planes.
The eventful day concluded with a group barbecue. The faculty would like to thank the participants and looks forward to the next air show in 2023.
Prof. Kroschel, how long has your faculty been hosting the Air Show, and who started it?
We held the Aviation Day for the first time this year, but there will certainly be another one next year. We have two pilots at the faculty: Prof. Fichna and myself. Together, we thought about how we could get our students excited about flying.
How have the students responded to the event?
Ten students from the Business Administration and Housing and Real Estate Management degree programmes participated in the very first Aviation Day. I’m particularly pleased that the program was good enough to be well received by our international classmates; the ten students represent six different countries.
Every student took to the air at least once; most even flew two or three times. I think I can say without exaggeration that everyone was pretty thrilled.
How does this flight day work?
We met at 10 a.m. at the Görlitz airfield, where we received a brief introduction to airport etiquette. Afterward, the students were able to watch flight operations and, in some cases, even lend a hand during glider takeoffs. There was also the opportunity to climb into a glider or a powered aircraft and take to the skies. From what I’ve heard, some students even briefly took the controls themselves and flew the aircraft.
What is it that makes flying so fascinating to you?
That’s hard to describe. A sense of freedom, of course—a completely different perspective, seeing the world from above—and it’s less hectic than traffic on the road…
When it comes to notable aviators, who is your role model in aviation?
The ultralight aircraft that I purchased together with three friends is called Melli, named after Melli Beese, the first woman in Germany to hold a pilot’s license.
Flying and economics—how do they go together?
There are many similarities between piloting an airplane and running a business. In both cases, you have a great deal of responsibility. Furthermore, in both cases, it’s about achieving a goal you’ve set for yourself—one that, in the face of bad weather or an unfavorable economic climate, can sometimes only be reached by taking a detour.
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