Youngstown aeronautics campus to be expanded, renovated

March 12, 2016 at 12:06a.m.

VIENNA

A $1.3 million renovation and expansion project will begin next month at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics in Vienna.

The institute, which offers studies in aviation-maintenance technology, will renovate its three classrooms and add three new classrooms in an effort to attract more students.

“We have been here for 10 years,” said David Mitchell, Youngstown campus director. “A lot of people don’t really know we are here. We are trying to get the word out that we are here. We are investing to expand our opportunities.”

PIA has offered training for aviation-maintenance technicians at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport since 2006.

PIA recently purchased property from the Western Reserve Port Authority, which operates the airport, for the expansion. A new two-story facility will feature electrical and welding classrooms, an aeronautics lab, administrative office and a conference facility. Three classrooms will be added to the three classrooms at the campus. The three older classrooms will be renovated.

The renovation and expansion is expected to be finished in about one year.

“Residents and employers of the region are fortunate to have the specialized training that’s available at PIA,” said John Moliterno, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, in a statement. “Their presence makes it possible for young people of the Mahoning Valley to stay here for the type of training that can lead to high-demand careers as well as attract new people to the area.”

Plans for the project were developed with Sidock Group Inc., an architect, engineer and project manager specialized in the heavy industrial and aerospace industries.

The aviation industry will require more than 1 million new aviation personnel – 558,000 commercial airline pilots and 609,000 maintenance technicians between 2016 and 2034, according to Boeing’s 2015 Current Market Outlook.

The Youngstown PIA campus, one of four PIA campuses in the U.S., has 38 students currently enrolled in the 16-month program.

“I would hope that at any one time in the future, we’d have closer to 100 students,” Mitchell said.