LYNN HAVEN — Tom P. Haney Technical Center’s Aviation Academy recently ranked fourth out of 28 college and technical schools nationwide at the SkillsUSA 2014 competition.
“For Haney to have achieved that on a national stage truly shows the quality of the program, the advisers, their instructors and their business partners here in the Panhandle,” said Tyler Kercher, state director at SkillsUSA, a nationwide organization that prepares individuals for careers in skilled occupations.
The award “shows a lot for our ability to prepare for the future of our workforce,” Kercher added.
— PHOTO GALLERY: Haney Aviation Academy »
Former Haney student Victor Pen demonstrated proficiency in 12 areas of mechanics during the aviation maintenance technology contest. (Pen could not be reached for comment.)
Despite its high rankings and boastful hands-on learning modules, few students are willing to commit to the program, according to Haney director Michael Heptinstall.
“We have a very stringent attendance policy here,” Heptinstall said. Students can miss up to 15 hours of class time over the 480-hour program, he said. “It’s tough.”
To garner more participants, the school has pushed back the start of the program by two weeks, so students should be able to register for the program for another week.
“We have to get the word out that, ‘Hey, we’re starting this program,’ ” said director of the aviation academy Franklin Stephens, who has 62 years of experience in aviation maintenance and 50 years in education.
So far, 32 students are enrolled, but the academy has room for dozens more, Stephens said.
Keeping his rule that a third of the lessons are taught in the classrooms and the rest taught on the field, Stephens promises courses are interactive and students will gain relevant, hands-on experience.
For example, to pass the program students have to put together a 673-part piston aircraft engine.
“Every nut, bolt, screw and piece is taken apart and then they have to clean it, inspect it,” Stephens said. “When they put it back together — with the new parts — it’ll even sound better, but even with the used parts, it still must run. If it doesn’t, they haven’t passed the program.”
Tyndall Air Force Base has donated an F-15, which airmen use to train for F-22 flight, to the academy. The school also has a Czechoslovakian fighter jet and a small collection of other aircraft that are fully functioning and could take flight if piloted.
Upon completion of the aviation academy, students will have earned Airplant and Powerplant certifications from the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) and be ready to enter into the aviation industry workforce in the areas of maintenance, inspection, consultation and troubleshooting.
The aviation academy has a 70 percent certification rate and the two-part certification program costs $8,000 for in-state tuition and $22,000 for out-of-state.
“To be such a young school, being in existence for only five years and being able to compete with other schools that have been in existence a lot longer and have a lot more airplanes and training modules than what we have,” Heptinstall said, “to produce a student ... to be fourth in the nation is incredible.”