Midwest Aircraft Mechanic Training Center

Punchline: Our program is seeking the donation of a regional jet, corporate jet, and two general aviation aircraft. They do not need to be airworthy, as we will use them for ground training only.

It's no secret that over the past few weeks the aviation community has been the target of many headlines about poor service and delays. However, when you dig deeper you learn that the root cause of this issue is unprecedented issues in staffing. Often, you think of pilots, however there is also a critical shortage of aviation mechanics.

For this reason, Sinclair Community College is creating a regional collaboration to meet this growing need by creating a new Midwest Aircraft Mechanic Training Center that will be housed in a renovated hangar at the Dayton International Airport. Sinclair is an approved FAA Part 147 aviation maintenance technician school (AMTS) and has been training A&P mechanics for over 20 years. Sinclair’s students also have the option to earn an associate’s degree in aviation maintenance. 

The training center will contain two classrooms, lab spaces and a large hangar space that will double the program’s enrollment capacity to 200 students. The hangar was designed to accommodate commercial aircraft while providing hands-on training for students who will be employed by airlines. The renovation of the hangar is nearly complete and we are seeking the donation of:

• A regional jet size aircraft (CRJ-200/700, ERJ-145, etc.) to support the training of the next generation aircraft mechanics. An aircraft in the 30-90 seat range would be ideal.
• A corporate jet (Hawker, Citation, TBM, etc.)
• One or two general aviation aircraft (Cessna, Gruman, King Air, etc.) dual or single prop.

These aircraft would be used solely for mechanic training purposes (would never fly again) and would provide an invaluable training tool to better prepare our graduates for airline employment.

If you have an aircraft that will be taken out of service, or an aircraft you are interested in donating, please reach out to me: Zachary Beck or [email protected].

Thank you for any help or connections you can offer!

Zack