Twenty-one international pilots in training here visited Atlanta Feb. 18 to 20 for a glimpse into America’s history and culture.

Maj. William Hendrickson, base international liaison officer, organized the trip to expose the international military members to a side of American culture not locally available to them in Columbus.

Seasoned and novice pilots from countries such as Tunisia, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Romania, Bangladesh, Singapore and Botswana toured Atlanta’s CNN Headquarters, Cyclorama, the Jimmy Carter Museum and the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Ga.

Shortly after arriving in Atlanta, the group rode the world’s largest free-standing escalator at CNN Headquarters before receiving a behind-the-scenes look at one of the nation’s leading news production teams.

They then received an innovative Civil War history lesson via the Cyclorama -- a large cylindrical painting dictating the Battle of Atlanta, complete with foreground figures, music, sound effects and narrative. Measuring 50 feet high, 400 feet long and weighing more than 9,000 pounds, the Cyclorama is the largest oil painting in the world.

Afterward, the international students spent the afternoon browsing a vast collection of memorabilia from former president Jimmy Carter’s early life in Plains, Ga.; his term as governor of Georgia; his term as president of the United States; and his years following government service.

The weekend trip concluded the next day at the Lockheed Martin facility, where the group received program overviews of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and C-130J Hercules from senior business development members. They also toured production lines for the F-22 and C-130J aircraft.

“I really appreciated the trip,” said 2nd Lt. Cliff Manyuni of Botswana. “It was so educational and fun because my feelings of home sickness were resolved. Meeting with other people who feel the same way and sharing our experiences really helped.”

The weekend’s venture also served as a networking tool among the students. Many fine-tuned their newly adopted English vocabulary and also took advantage of the opportunity to learn about their intercontinental neighbors’ training policies and military service.

“Before the trip, I never had the chance to speak with the other international students in a group setting like that, and I don’t think I would have if it wasn’t for the trip,” said 2nd Lt. Keith Chiang of Singapore. “This was an excellent opportunity for our international student body to get to know each other and see more of the country to learn something new.”

Columbus Air Force Base trains international student pilots through the Foreign Military Sales and Aviation Leadership Programs. The purpose of these programs is to promote cultural and informational exchanges to develop mutual cooperation between the United States and participating nations to build relationships for the future.