Monday, September 18, 2017
Staff report
VIENNA
The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will celebrate its expansion at its Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport campus Wednesday.
“Our expansion is a continued expression of the Youngstown region’s strong history in aviation,” said Suzanne Markle, president and CEO of the nonprofit PIA.
Last year, PIA invested $1.3 million in its purchase of the Hangar 3 site and construction of a new two-story teaching facility there.
The new facility includes electrical and welding classrooms, an aeronautics lab, a conference facility, administrative offices and a student resource center with a computer lab.
The adjacent hangar features specialized shop areas for aircraft propulsion systems, electricity, sheet metal, hydraulics, instruments and controls, composite materials, nondestructive testing, welding and painting.
Plans for the project were developed with the Michigan-based Sidock Group Inc., an architect, engineer and project manager that specializes in the heavy industrial and aerospace industries.
“Our investment in our facilities and our students is in response to strong career demand,” Markle said.
Between this year and 2035, the aviation industry will need to supply more than 2 million new aviation personnel – including 679,000 maintenance technicians worldwide, according to the 2016 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook.
Since 2006, PIA’s Youngstown Branch campus has been training certified and work-ready aviation maintenance technicians with a 16-month diploma program in aviation maintenance technology.