Avionics News May 2023 - 58

INDUSTRY RESPONSIVE EDUCATION
Continued from page 57
instructor certificate. Working in the industry's favor is
that several high-profile aerospace manufacturers hungry
for new talent are based within 50 miles of Middletown,
including Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, and
Kaman.
Pelletier and his colleagues Natalie
"
Forbes and Steve Socolowski at
Middletown five years ago created an
aerospace manufacturing program for
local high school students that focuses
on three specific areas designed to
fulfill the fun and interesting goal. One
is mechanical technology in which
students help build an actual aircraft,
an RV-12 in this case. Then there's the
aerospace design class to zero in on
building aircraft parts using the latest
CAD and CNC machinery. Finally,
there's the drone and flight sciences
class that trains young people for their
FAA Part 107 certificate that will allow
them to operate a variety of drones.
Middletown's drone program uses
virtual reality goggles plugged in to a
desktop computer to enhance a student's
interest while they study the hundreds
of questions to prepare them for the Part
107 written exam. The drone course has been popular
with students of all ages at Middletown. " We actually
had one of our freshman pass his Part 107 written at age
14. " Unfortunately, that young man needed to wait until
he was 16 to receive the actual certification to comply
with the federal aviation regulations. Pelletier sees
" drones as the next big thing because young people grew
up playing computer games that make learning to fly a
drone pretty easy for them. "
Middletown High School also offers a few summer
aerospace workshops, including one this July when
students will spend the week at Meriden Airport to learn
hands-on the inspection techniques necessary to make
and keep an actual aircraft in an airworthy condition.
Students will have an opportunity to experience these
techniques on both the airframe and the engine. Another
58 avionics news * may 2023
workshop at the Hartford-Brainard Airport will offer
a deep dive into aviation weather taught by a local
meteorologist. The session includes launching a weather
balloon and later analyzing data the onboard technology
captures.
The third workshop's title says it all: Becoming an
THERE' S A
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN
TALKING
ABOUT
WORKFORCE
PROBLEMS
AND
CREATING
PRACTICAL
SOLUTIONS . "
FAA-Certificated Drone Pilot. This session includes the
opportunity to fly the high school's FAA-certified
Redbird simulator. Pelletier said, " the
summer workshop translates into students
working side by side with local firefighters
and police officers who are also earning
their Part 107 certificates. A few of our
advanced drone pilot students are so good
flying these aircraft with a pair of joysticks
that we let them help train some of the
firefighting staff. "
Pelletier mentioned that before the
Redbird was available at Middletown,
students helped him build a more basic flight
simulator from the cockpit of a donated
Piper Cherokee. Once the Redbird arrived
at the high school, the Cherokee wasn't
needed, so it was donated to a local middle
school where it was placed on a wheeled
platform to make it mobile. The unit is
now a part of the middle school's STEM
lab, nicknamed The Garage, where those
students are also learning about aviation.
While most industry professionals
wish we had the opportunity to attend
a high school like Middletown, the school and those
big aerospace manufacturers in the neighborhood
meet regularly to help solve those industry workforce
problems. Pelletier said those meetings offer the school
system an opportunity to learn what these companies are
looking for in their future workforce while giving Pratt &
Whitney, Sikorsky, Kaman, and others a close look at how
Middletown is preparing students to become a solution to
those workforce shortages. Pelletier called it, " a win-win
for our school and these potential industry partners. " q
To learn more about the aerospace program at
Middletown High School and the Middletown Public
Schools, an AEA member since 2022, visit
mhs.middletownschools.org/o/mhs.
http://mhs.middletownschools.org/o/mhs
Avionics News May 2023

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