This week, ASU East will help chart a course for safety, and then some.
On Friday and Saturday, East campus will be hosting the 2005 Aviation Expo, bringing some of the industry's most distinguished members together for the two-day event.
The theme is "Charting a Course of Safety in Aviation." Attendees will be able to view exhibits and demonstrations, view aircraft and flight simulators and listen to a variety of speakers and panel discussions.
The event is open to the public on Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Events will take place at the Student Union and the Fighter Combat International hanger at Williams Gateway Airport.
The Williams Gateway location will have indoor and outdoor aircraft displays available for viewing.
Aviation leaders such as Cutter Aviation and Liberty Aerospace Inc. will have planes on hand for display. Adam Aircraft Industries is also expected to attend with some cutting-edge planes that aren't yet available.
Wayne Tripp, a professor in the department of Aeronautical Management Technology at ASU East and the director of the event said this year's event has around 100 exhibitors and is expected to attract a few thousand attendees.
"[The exposition] came out of being a student event, and has now blossomed," Tripp said.
One of the sponsors of this year's expo is a company made up of three ASU East students. Granite Aviation, located at Falcon Field in Mesa, offers flight instruction, aircraft rental and pilot services.
Though the expo will focus on safety and security, all areas of aviation will be covered -- from education to research and development.
Tripp said his goal is "to enlighten people in the Valley to the superior aviation resources that exist all around them."
The Army National Guard is bringing a mobile air traffic control center that came back from Iraq. Tripp said it's a great chance for people to see how operations in an environment like that really work.
The event's keynote speaker is Capt. Brian Udell. His presentation will focus on how properly trained aviation professionals can take control in difficult situations.
His point is best made through his own tale of an emergency ejection from an F-16 at more than 800 miles per hour. It's a story that brings home the subject of his discussion.
"It's an amazing story of heroism and survival in aviation," said Tripp of Udell's experience. "Audiences are just gripped when they hear it."
Udell is scheduled to speak Friday at 6 p.m. in the Union Ballroom.
Other speakers include David Bryman, an aviation medical examiner who will be speaking on aeromedical concerns for aviators, and ASU East's Michael Pearson, who will be discussing legal issues in regards to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Reach the reporter at rachel.hawkinson@asu.edu.
