Skies are the limit for Pitt’s new Aviation Club

A new club at Pitt may be taking flight — literally.

Pitt Aviators, a club for those interested in planes, helicopters and general aviation, was formed by Scott Szuhay, a second-year student in Pitt’s Law School, in October 2013. The group is currently looking for a way to obtain an aircraft for use by club members.

“There was no real aviation [club] here, and I thought there must be other airplane junkies like me,” Szuhay, who is also the club’s president, said.  

Szuhay, a certified commercial pilot, said the club has held one meeting each month since October 2013. After initially meeting in the Cathedral of Learning, the group now convenes in the Barco Law Building’s Fawcett Student Commons. The members are a mix of about 15 undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members from Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University.

 After writing a constitution for Pitt Aviators and going through Pitt’s Student Organization Resource Center to register as a University-recognized club, Szuhay promoted the club at the fall semester activities fair in August 2013. In October 2013, Szuhay held a general-interest meeting that drew a crowd of 15 people.

Pitt Aviators meetings usually begin with a video related to the meeting’s topic. Szuhay said topics covered in past meetings include flying around Pittsburgh, gliders and helicopters.

Szuhay also brings in people with specific knowledge of a topic related to aviation to give presentations. He said if a club member is familiar with a specific topic in aviation, he will let them do a presentation, as well.

While current meetings focus more around aviation education, Szuhay said he would like to increase the club’s activity in the future after it gains a solid membership core.

 He said it would “not be that unrealistic to get a plane.”

Marc Silverman, the club’s faculty advisor, said he accepted Szuhay’s offer to be the club advisor despite his limited aviation experience.

“I did ground school while I was in college,” Silverman, a law professor, said in an email. 

Silverman said many of his friends are pilots and could be potential speakers at club meetings. 

“I go flying with them whenever I am invited,” he said.  

For now, Szuhay has other aspirations for the Pitt Aviators, including tours of local airports and bringing in more notable or distinguished speakers.

“When it gets warmer, I would like to give everyone a tour of a Douglas C54,” Szuhay said.

The Douglas C54 was originally used as a military transport aircraft during World War II, and now one rests in the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation in Toms River, N.J.

While the club opens its doors to anybody, most of the regular attendees have backgrounds in flying helicopters or experience with flight simulation.

One such member is Eric Bykowsky.

“I was interested in aviation since I was a little kid,” Bykowsky, a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University majoring in business, said.

Bykowsky started flight training in the summer of 2012 and has been continuing his training for about a year and a half. 

He found out about Pitt Aviators through flyers that Szuhay distributed on CMU and Pitt’s campuses. Szuhay also promoted the club with television advertisements in Benedum Hall. 

Szuhay said he extended his search to find members for the club to CMU because he knew Pitt did not have an organization dedicated to aviation. 

As far as the future of the club goes, Bykowsky agreed with Szuhay, and said he, too, would want the club to have its own plane.

“If we grew as a club, it would become a practical thing to have,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get our own plane.”