Pinecrest College of Aviation
An airship academy with the largest training facility in Zendu.
Airship by TJ Trewin
Welcome to Pinecrest College of Aviation! My name is Palbo (but you can just call me Bo) and I'm a student here in my second year - I'm delighted to give you a tour of our state-of-the-art campus today and introduce you to our expert pilots and wonderful staff! Refreshments are available at the cafeteria and, if you have any questions, feel free to ask any member of our students! We're here all day, and the Open Day finishes at sundown. Right! Let's take a tour of the campus, I'm sure you're all excited to see the airships you can learn to fly!
Contents
Type
Educational, School/Academy
Alternative Names
Pinecrest Airship Academy
Workshop & Hangar
This is our workshop next to the hangar, here we learn the inner workings of airships and how to maintain them - we also practise loading and unloading different types of cargo so that we know how to balance the ship and keep its height in line with the docking area.
Airships float in mid-air thanks to their core of albar - it's an igneous rock that has gasses lighter than air trapped inside of it. We use heat magic to agitate those gasses and make the ship rise, and cold magic to lower it back down again. To move around we use sails to steer and, if we need to go faster, we can use wind magic for extra propulsion.
There are three typical classes of ships that we train to use: skyhaulers for cargo, voyager class ships for passengers, and cloudracers for, well - racing! I'll show you our race track later!
Cloudracer
Competitive racing ship
Often home built
Competitive racing ship
Often home built
Voyager
Passenger ship
Mid-range to long distance
Passenger ship
Mid-range to long distance
Skyhauler
Cargo ship
Carries varying shipments
Cargo ship
Carries varying shipments
The Sky Docks
The sky docks are where we put our mooring skills to practise outside of the hangar. It's also where we arrive and depart from when sailing the voyager class and skyhauler ships!Weather Station
Airships aren't the only thing we study here - it's also really important to understand the weather conditions and how to use your magic to keep your ship, crew, and cargo safe.Race Track
Our race track stretches out in to the great Zendu Field, see all the flags out there? You need to fly low in case your ship bumps someone, and the course is marked out in sand for softer landings.Training Zone
If you look up above the near the race track you'll see our training zone - it's like an obstacle course in the sky where we learn to navigate around other ships and floating islands.Faculty Buildings
The main faculty building houses our classrooms, lecture hall, and library. Just next to it are the student accommodations and cafeteria, which also has an exercise facility. Over by the hangar is our research faculty where you'll learn about aerodynamics and get to hone your magic against simulated forces of nature in our state of the art wind tunnel.
Courses
Core subjects:
- Basic flight school
- Skydiving lessons
- Airship repair & maintenance
- Aerial navigation & charting
- Skyfaring law & diplomacy
- Cargo and passenger logistics
- History of aviation
Specialist courses:
Advanced flight school, environmental & magical studies, navigating extreme environments, and aerial combat & defence.Famous Graduates - Trophy Display
Goldcrest Award of Innovation
"Talon" Pobec
"Talon" Pobec
Pinecrest College of Aviation - Fastest Lap
Bonna Michoma
Bonna Michoma
5th Zendu Cloudracer Champion
Ordnil "The Arrow"
Ordnil "The Arrow"
6th Zendu Cloudracer Champion
Barsal "The Bolt"
Barsal "The Bolt"
Dormitories & Cafeteria
The student dormitories here are small and cosy, and there's different room sizes to accommodate for all kinds of folk and their requirements. We have a safe space for our belongings, and a friendly communal area to relax and play cards in.
Well - that's my part of the tour done! Feel free to have a wander around and go inside each of the airships! The cafeteria is this way - do you wanna grab something from the open buffet to take with you?
Oooh, and before you go, I'd like you to have this stamp for Your Journal as a memento of your visit to the college here today!by TJ Trewin
Thanks for giving this a read!
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If you enjoyed this article, please give it a like so I know what to make more of :D
Thanks so much for liking this article!
Your encouragement really motivates me to keep creating and spread more JOY!
Your encouragement really motivates me to keep creating and spread more JOY!
I'd probably be taking the repair and maintenance courses. Something about that in this world sounds fun.
You bet! :D
I just finished some new art in my latest article: Pinecrest College of Aviation!