The Park City School District is expanding its aviation class offerings for next year. Starting next spring, Park City High students can enroll in two aviation maintenance classes where they build a small airplane.
The curriculum comes from Tango Flight, a nonprofit aiming to inspire the next generation of engineers, pilots, aviation mechanics and technicians. The year-long program covers aviation maintenance technician basics and provides hands-on experience building an airplane.
Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said students will build the plane in the district’s construction yard. Once completed, the aircraft will be inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at a local airport.
“The Heber [Valley] Airport would likely be the closest, and then they put the finishing touches on it, their employee certifies it and takes it up for flight,” Huntsman said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” April 9
Aviation teacher Trip Marshall told the Board of Education April 7 the plane will take about two years to build. Once finished, Tango Flight will send materials for another one. The district won’t keep the finished aircrafts.
Marshall said students who want to pursue airline pilot, drone pilot and engineering careers have already shown interest in the courses.
“This would pull in these different students. The students who want to be pilots, want to learn more about aircraft, students who want to be working maintenance as well as students who want to be in engineering, which I'm very, very excited to have those students in one program together,” he said.
The high school already offers classes where students can earn drone aviation and private pilot license certificates as well as a flight simulator course. Huntsman said aviation maintenance is the next step.
“There's a shortage of workers for that particular field, and this will allow us to provide those kids with that skill set, while also getting that hands-on practical application,” she said.
If students pass the program with flying colors, they will move toward a FAA aviation maintenance technician certificate.
The Tango curriculum costs around $102,000 and is paid for through a $390,000 Utah Catalyst Center Grant, now called the APEX grant.
