NEW DIGS FOR TENNESSEE AVIATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Northeast State Community College’s Aviation Technology program has moved into its new home in a hangar at Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) in Bristol/Johnson/Kingsport, Tennessee. Classes and training operations moved in last month and the Department Head, Richard Blevins, expects it to be totally finished and furnished by the end of December.

In addition to two fully-equipped classrooms, the hangar is large enough to accommodate three small airplanes and a helicopter as well as the program’s flight simulator, equipment, tools, and parts necessary for training. Blevins said, “. . . we have every trainer of every piece of every part of an aircraft system and subsystem.” Students eagerly anticipated the transition and now think it’s great because what they learn in the classroom can be immediately applied just a few feet away in the hangar.

Interest in the program has grown along with its footprint, with 50 people currently on the waiting list for 24 available slots, making the classes full until 2024. In addition to training in a highly skilled profession, the program also promises that students can expect to receive three or four job offers with a livable wage before even graduating. Boeing has mentioned in its last several quarterly reports that the industry is experiencing a shortage of about 1.5 million pilots and maintenance technicians, and this is reflected in the rate of hiring of Boeing and other manufacturers.