Becca Lax, the 59th Indiana State Fair Queen, boarded a Purdue aircraft Wednesday (July 26) for a flight to an appearance at a county fair. What made this flight unique is that Lax was the flight's copilot, not just a passenger.

Mary McCarty, a senior in professional flight, and Alyssa Harvey, a junior in professional flight, will compete in the 41st annual Air Race Classic, a women's cross-country competition.

Returning from a detachment in Kansas back to Norfolk, Virginia, Lieutenant Steven Berres, a naval aviator in the U.S. Navy, decided to stop by Purdue for a short visit. He brought along his aircraft, a MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter, and crew.

Tom Murray

Education: professional flight

Payoff: Murray was the first officer on all four legs of the chartered flight for Pope Francis’s tour of the United States in early October 2015. The assignment is the latest during a long career in the Air Force and at American Airlines. A decorated veteran of Desert Storm, he was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a C-141 Aircraft Commander. At American Airlines, he has been a captain on Boeing 727, 767, and 777 as well as the Airbus 300. He has also served as check airman and international standards coordinator on the Boeing 777 and Airbus 300.

Find out the future plans for 2015 professional flight technology graduate Thomas Keiffer.

Jeppesen, a part of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, will supply Purdue University’s leading aviation program with professional pilot training materials through a new agreement designed to prepare the next generation of student pilots taking to the skies.

As the College of Technology’s May 2014 graduates complete their time at Purdue, we are profiling a few and finding out their future plans and how they arrived at this point in their lives.

Lisa Lewis knows from experience that Purdue's elite aviation technology program can give alumni a head start when they seek jobs as professional pilots. In fact, Lewis -- who is Purdue's director of flight operations and a 2001 aviation technology alumna -- credits her time in the aviation technology program with helping her land previous jobs as a corporate pilot for two Fortune 500 companies.

Tyler Beachy, Goshen, Indiana

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Making a difference

I find it exhilarating to see the look on a person’s face when they experience flight for the first time. As an instructor, it is very rewarding to guide people who share my passion for flight in making their dreams a reality and seeing them progress in ability.

The 13 flight simulators at Purdue's Holleman-Niswonger Simulator Center teach students to fly several planes using strikingly realistic equipment.