Moments after the bell rings for the last class period of the day, Sterling High School student Jacqueline Vickers is buckling her seatbelt inside a flight simulator and preparing for takeoff.

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With her hands resting on the flight yoke, she reviews the flight control panel and gazes at the video screen that stretches across the cockpit and shows a digital picture view of Houston.

“I love everything about flying – just knowing that you’re in the air and you’re doing something that most people think is impossible,” Vickers says while practicing to fly in one of two new flight training devices at Sterling. Continue reading →