DETROIT -- For a group of 8th-10th graders, flights over the city in private aircraft will be the highlight of a July 8-12 aviation careers program hosted by Wayne State University in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and several aviation-oriented organizations. The students, from schools in Detroit and suburban districts, are participants in the annual Aviation Career Education Academy, popularly known as ACE Academy.

In addition to getting a birds-eye view of the city during a visit to Detroit City Airport on July 10, the approximately 25 middle and high school students will learn about airplanes, airports and various aspects of commercial and military aviation during a week packed with activities. They will receive guided tours of various installations at Detroit Metropolitan and Detroit City Airports as well as Selfridge Air National Guard Base and the Tuskegee Airmen Museum at Historic Fort Wayne.

The academy includes sessions at Wayne State on the history of aviation, the theory of flight, and on navigation and weather. And the students will see flight dynamics come alive as they build and fly model gliders. Completion certificates will be awarded at a July 12 graduation ceremony that concludes the week's activities.

Wayne State is in its 10th year of hosting the ACE Academy, an education program originated by the FAA and held in various areas of the country. The Detroit program is coordinated by WSU's Academic College Enrichment Services, a unit in the Division of Student Development and Campus Life. Participating organizations include the Tuskegee Airmen, National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees, Organization of Black Airline Pilots, Black Pilots of America and FAA Great Lakes Region.

To participate, students must be nominated by teachers or by one of the sponsoring organizations.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.

Note to editor: A complete schedule of ACE Academy activities is available.