March 9, 2009
The Connecticut Aero Tech School opened its new $10 million training facility for aviation maintenance technicians at a Ribbon Cutting and Dedication Ceremony held on March 9, 2009. The ceremony, hosted by Governor M. Jodi Rell and Connecticut’s Departments of Public Works, Education and Transportation, celebrated the new facility’s mission to offer a two-year program offering Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airframe and Power Plant Certification training for post high school students.
The 32,000 square foot, one-story project consisted of a spacious new aircraft hangar, three classrooms, and a piston-engine and jet-engine shop. The facility also includes additional shop training areas, a paint spray booth, administrative space, lunch room, storage space and an adjacent, two-bay test cell structure that allow students to safely run and test the reciprocating and turbine engines they have assembled. The aircraft hangar, a 100′ clear span, 14,000 SF space, is capable of containing transport category aircraft, which vastly increases the training capacity of the school program. The facility will also become an FAA-certified repair station for general and corporate aircraft.
The Aero Tech School was originally located at the H.H. Ellis Technical High School in the Danielson section of Killingly. The move to Brainard Airport was implemented in order to better serve all of Connecticut by having the school more centrally-located and to provide better access to the state’s aviation industry. This facility now houses an FAA-certified training program that prepares personnel for the rigorous FAA standards for airframe and power plant mechanics.
The new technical school building has become a wonderful addition to the state Department of Transportation’s airport operations and increases the importance of general aviation in the Hartford area. The school has an enrollment capacity of 60 students who are prepared, upon completion of their two-year training, to take FAA examinations to certify as aviation maintenance technicians.
Aero Tech said its graduates are employed by aviation companies throughout the state.