Aeronautical center opens at Greenwood airport
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Officials in Greenwood cut the ribbon Saturday on the first phase of the new Aeronautical Center of Technology at Indy South Greenwood Airport.
The facility will house a variety of aviation-related courses for middle and high school students, and donations are still being sought to complete the buildout of the building’s second floor.
Construction on the facility began in 2019, according to the ACT’s website. Director Roger Tomey said the building provides students the ability to become “totally absorbed” in aviation engineering.
“This gives kids the practical application to the STEM disciplines,” said Tomey. “It’s a great way to see why you have to know math and science, and you put it into a practical application. This building provides the necessary area in which we can apply those disciplines.”
The ACT provides courses that will help students earn their pilot certificates before they graduate high school. Students can also earn their Unmanned Aircraft Systems pilot certification, learn about rocketry and launch systems, and potentially land an apprenticeship in industrial 3D printing.
The center will begin its first year of instruction on Aug. 11 with about 12 students, but Tomey said plans call for a total of 50 students in subsequent semesters.
Among the projects the students will be working on is a three-year effort to build an airplane.
“They’re not only going to learn about how blueprints are read and how to use calibration tools, but they’re also going to be learning about the electrical system, the hydraulic system. They’re going to be mounting the engine, putting in the avionics, the interior, mounting the prop,” Tomey said. “They’re also going to learn about how you develop a test flight program on this. And then the course the FAA inspects this at different stages to make sure that it’s been constructed correctly.”
Tomey said a similar program was done in partnership with Indianapolis Metropolitan High School. Now, the ACT is partnering with Roncalli High School in Indy for a dual credit program, where students can earn up to 11 credits per year toward a degree at Ivy Tech Community College.
The reason the center was created, Tomey said, was to help students get involved in an industry that can be expensive to start in, as well as help address an ongoing shortage of pilots across the country.
“Parents can’t afford, say $14,000-$16,000 to get their high school student a pilot certificate, and that’s got to be reduced,” he said. That’s why we’re here; with our controlling a flight program, with our grants and our scholarships that we offer, we get that way below $12,000.”
He said the U.S. is about 5,000 pilots short, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and that number is expected to grow to 12,000 by 2025 and 14,000 by 2030.
“So the demand is high not only for [pilots], but for mechanics as well, for avionics people, for air traffic controllers; the whole industry is hurting for people. And that’s one thing that we’re trying to help in that area.”
The new ACT building is the result of about $500,000 in investment that came completely from private donations. Tomey said they need about $75,000 to finish the second floor of the building, that will include classrooms and a technology room.
“The other thing we’re looking to do, too, is apply for different grants. We’re looking at [an] advanced training device. That’s actually a simulator in which student can log time on, plus, it can bring income into the tech center as well. But we need corporate help. We need partners in doing this. This is a great opportunity to help your community help these kids find a direction in life.”
You can learn more about donating to the ACT by clicking here.