Airport soon to house plane mechanic school

The job market is strong for aviation mechanics.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
VIENNA -- Randy Reynolds used to work on Air Force Two, the airplane that carried George Bush Sr. and Dan Quayle when they were vice presidents.
Now he's bringing 32 years of military and civilian experience in maintaining aircraft to Hangar 3 at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to teach students at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics what he knows.
On Aug. 31, the 18 students in his first class will begin their 16-month training in the renovated hangar. He said the response to the program has been good, and school officials believe they will have enough students to start another group in January.
Reynolds, who spent 25 years in the Air Force and seven as instructor for PIA, said the Youngstown-Warren area was considered an ideal location for the school because many of the students at the Pittsburgh location live here.
"Ohio is a great state for aviation," Reynolds said.
Strong starting pay
Students who have completed the training at the Pittsburgh location and have sought work receive three to four job offers and are earning between $12 and $23 per hour to start, Reynolds said.
James Mader, director of PIA, said the school has about 300 students at its main campus at the Allegheny County Airport. Cost for the school is around $20,000, he said.
He agreed with Steve Bowser, the airport's director of aviation, that the job market is very strong for graduates of the program. "We know there is a shortage out there," Bowser said.
Mader said the job market is as strong for graduates now as it has been during the 26 years he has been associated with PIA.
Because the school here is new, its certification by the Federal Aviation Administration is expected within a month, he noted. The Vienna facility contains about $1 million worth of equipment, he added.
Upon program completion, students earn a government-issued airframe and power plant license (known as A & amp;P), which authorizes them to work on airplanes, Reynolds said. The program teaches students how to repair the body of the plane as well as its engine.
PIA students range in age from just out of high school to their 50s, and some don't have any previous experience, he said. The main prerequisite is math skills, he said, explaining that some who don't qualify because of math deficiencies can take a remedial class.
Students' four semesters of training include math, physics and electricity, advanced electronics, engine repair, sheet metal work, welding, plastics and hydraulics, Reynolds said.
"When students come here they may have never held a screwdriver in their hands," Reynolds said as he sat near the open hangar door looking out over the expanse of asphalt, trees and fields at the airport.
Behind him sat the single-engine, two passenger Cessna 152 that students will use for conducting engine overhauls and inspections. On one side sat dozens of jet and propeller engines that students will train on.
School-airport deal
Workers provided by the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport, were completing their painting and other cleanup jobs inside the hangar, which was used primarily for storage before PIA arrived this spring.
Reynolds said the port authority and airport fixed-base operator Winner Aviation have caused preparations to go smoothly, and the school is nearly ready now -- weeks before classes begin.
Port authority member John Masternick has handled the negotiations for the 10-year lease the school signed with the port authority after a couple years' worth of negotiations. The lease is free the first year because of PIA's expenses associated with upgrading the classrooms; in years 2-10 PIA pays annual rent ranging from $38,750 to $62,000.
runyan@vindy.com