Pima’s Aviation Technology Program Adding New Aircraft Maintenance Certification Thanks to Grant
TUCSON, ARIZONA – Pima Community College’s Aviation Technology Program will offer a new 42-credit certificate in Nondestructive Testing for aircraft maintenance inspections, thanks to a $490,000 Federal Aviation Administration grant.
Program Director Jason Bowersock said most of the money will pay for equipment and supplies for the training, which will teach the most-asked-for aviation inspection techniques in the industry: visual testing; penetrant testing; magnetic particle testing; electromagnetic testing; ultrasonic testing; and radiographic testing.
The certificate will be offered starting in Fall 2023 and may be completed in two semesters. Courses will meet the Level I and Level II academic requirements of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT). Professionals who already have an aviation maintenance certification and students pursuing certificates are eligible.
Bowersock said he wants to add hands-on work to the Level II courses eventually. Students would do that work in a lab at Pima’s Aviation Technology Center (ATC), 7211 S. Park Ave., and through apprenticeships at local partner locations.
Pima was one of 15 Aviation Maintenance Technical Workers Workforce Development Grant recipients from around the country.
Meanwhile, a $15 million expansion of the ATC is on track to be completed in March. It is funded by a one-time allocation from the State of Arizona and will allow the program to double its student capacity.
Pima’s Aviation Technology Program is one of the most respected and dynamic in the country and poised to expand to meet the skyrocketing job growth in Southern Arizona’s aviation industry. The program’s Airframe and Powerplant courses are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and run year-round. It is one of a handful of programs where students conduct hands-on learning on commercial transport aircraft.
CONTACT:
Libby Howell, APR, Executive Director
Media, Government and Community Relations
520-549-9093,ehowell1@pima.edu