Known in the aviation world as icons in flight training, John and Martha King brought their education expertise to Kansas State University Salina during a campus visit on Friday, April 11.

The Kings, who are co-owners of King Schools in San Diego, Calif., met with faculty members and representatives from Textron Aviation to discuss the potential of enhancing the educational relationship between K-State Salina and the Cessna Pilot Center organization forged last year. The Kings also toured the K-State Salina aviation facilities and conducted an informative seminar for students on the beauty of flying and risk management while in the air.

“Flying is an extraordinary thing and once you learn to fly, it changes who you are,” John King said to a classroom of more than 30 students and professors.

The Kings have almost 40 years of experience instructing future pilots how to fly through video and electronic-based training materials. Kurt Barnhart, professor and head of the aviation department at K-State Salina, credits the Kings as his mentors during his pilot training in the 1980s.

“It was a real honor to host the Kings here on our campus. They have contributed so much to aviation,” said Barnhart, who is also the executive director of the Applied Aviation Research Center. “It would be great for K-State Salina to work with them through the Cessna Pilot Center structure to enhance access to a college degree.”

Currently, K-State Salina provides students at Cessna Pilot Centers the opportunity to transfer credit for flight and ground training toward receiving a distance-based degree from the university in technology management. K-State Salina is in the process of identifying ways to expand that relationship to provide degree opportunities in other areas.

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Story by Julee Cobb / KSU