Engineering Takes Flight – The United States Marine Corps will land 4 helicopters on campus on April 14
Tori J. Ross
2 min read
LEXINGTON, Kentucky (March 29, 2022) — The United States Marine Corps will land four of its helicopter gunships on the University of Kentucky campus on Thursday, April 14 from 2-5 p.m. Helicopters will land at 2:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Faculty members from the UK College of Engineering’s new aerospace engineering program will also showcase unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and share information about new aerospace programs. The UK has the only aerospace engineering program for undergraduate students in the state.
“We love giving our students hands-on opportunities to connect what they’re learning in the classroom to real life,” says Katie Wilder, director of the Engineering Living Learning Program and event organizer. “Many of our students go on to work in national defence, aircraft design and manufacturing. We are thrilled to partner with the US Marine Corps to host this special campus event.
The helicopters, which come from the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans, will include an AH-1Z Viper and a UH-1Y Venom.
The AH-1Z is an attack helicopter designed to provide close air support and the UH-1Y Venom is a utility helicopter. These helicopters mainly operate in pairs to perform their missions.
“These aircraft are the latest iterations of a family of helicopters that have seen combat dating all the way back to Vietnam,” said Capt. Anthony Beaupre, aviation assistant for officer supply in the 4th Corps District. of the Marines. “They are currently in use by the Marine Corps and are primarily deployed on naval vessels as part of Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs).”
Both planes are the latest iterations of a family of helicopters that have seen combat dating back to Vietnam. They are currently used by the Marine Corps and are primarily deployed on naval vessels as part of maritime expeditionary units.
Members of the United States Marine Corps will be on hand to discuss career opportunities.
For more information visit: https://www.engr.uky.edu/engineering-takes-flight
