Engineering Takes Flight — US Marine Corps to Land 4 Helicopters on Campus April 14
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 29, 2022) — The U.S. Marine Corps will be landing four of its combat helicopters on the University of Kentucky campus Thursday, April 14 from 2-5 p.m. — the helicopters will be landing 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 be displaying unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and sharing information about the new aerospace programs. 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 organizer of the event. “Many of our students go on to work in national defense, aircraft design and manufacturing. We are thrilled to partner with the U.S. Marine Corps to bring this special event to campus.”
The helicopters, which are coming 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 primarily work in pairs to execute their mission sets.
“These aircraft are the latest iterations of a family of helicopters that have seen combat dating all the way back to Vietnam,” said Captain Anthony Beaupre, Aviation Assistant for Officer Procurement in the 4th Marine Corps District. “They currently are used by the Marine Corps and are primarily deployed on naval ships as part of Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU’s)."
Both aircraft are the latest iterations of a family of helicopters that have seen combat dating all the way back to Vietnam. They currently are used by the Marine Corps and are primarily deployed on naval ships as part of Marine Expeditionary Units.
Members of the U.S. Marine Corps will be on hand to talk about career opportunities.
For more information visit: https://www.engr.uky.edu/engineering-takes-flight
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.