USU Aviation Students Take Hands-On to New Heights

Utah State University students are reaping the benefits of recent investment into hands-on learning — the start of the spring semester marks the beginning of the second academic session they’ve had access to a new 737 jet simulator.

Featuring a 220-degree wraparound screen, and true-to-life switches, buttons and controls, the simulator offers as close to real life flight scenarios as can be provided short of true flight time in a real jet cockpit. This is largely because it is true-to-life, with the simulator being built from the cockpit of an actual, but retired, Boeing 737.

Because of this, Captain Parry “Pee Wee” Winder says it rivals, and in some cases, surpasses the equipment used by many airlines in their flight training programs.

“We can simulate any weather, any runway, anywhere in the world,” says Winder, director and chief flight instructor for the USU 737 Jet Training Program. “Students get a real sense of how the profession feels. You sit in that seat and it looks like you’re sitting in Salt Lake on the runway. You can’t get much more real than that.”

The simulators are part of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ ongoing investment in hands-on learning that prepares students for in-demand technical and professional careers.

“If you build it, they will come,” Winder said. “We’ve built a world-class jet training program, and we’re seeing the very best students join us to chase their dreams.”

This article has been adapted from a previous article written by Shelby Ruud Jarman and published to Utah State Today on Oct. 15, 2025.