The Vin Fiz II

Rodgers and McDonald

To be honest, this week was not the most interesting week I’ve had thus far. I did have the opportunity on Tuesday to attend an interest meeting for Alpha Eta Rho, which is a coeducational fraternity for MTSU Aerospace students. The meeting included free pizza which was great; however, I’m not sure how I feel about joining the fraternity, though they seem like exceptional people. Perhaps the most exciting thing I learned this week was that of a former MTSU Aerospace student, double majoring in Professional Pilot and Maintenance Management.

 Five years ago, Collin McDonald was in the same shoes as I am now as an Honors Aerospace student, particularly as a Professional Pilot major. What makes Collin’s story here at MTSU interesting is what he accomplished for his senior thesis project. This week in class I learned about Calbraith “Cal” Perry Rodgers, who was the first to successfully fly coast-to-coast across the U.S. Collin’s senior creative project was to fly the same transcontinental route Cal Rodgers flew over 100 years ago. In 2016 Collin, in his “Fin Fiz II”, successfully flew the same route as Rodgers in his so-called “Vin Fiz” airplane, flying from New York City to Las Angeles, though he did so in 21 days less time. Collin now does missionary flying in Papa New Guinea. What stood out to me from reading about Collin’s journey was his desire to attract more youth to the aerospace industry, which was very impressive. As a freshman now at MTSU, It is very interesting to see where other MTSU Pro Pilots have gone and what they have been able to accomplish. Collin’s story was encouraging and makes me look forward to what in store for me here at MTSU.