CL-August 2024 - 14

CROSS WINDS
CAMPUS VIEW OF PLANNED
AVIATION TRAINING FACILITY
Averett University operates an
aeronautics program at the Danville
Regional Airport, where it has had
a presence for 40 years.
Danville Flight School Gets Its Wings
Aviation training facility receives federal funding
by Grace Mamon, Cardinal News
T
he city of Danville, Va., has received a $4.1 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Commerce to build a new
aviation training facility at Danville Regional Airport.
The 12,532-square-foot facility will be used by students at
Averett University and Danville Community College.
The new facility is meant to support aviation workforce
development in the area, according to a news release from
the Commerce Department's Economic Development
Administration, which provided the award. This grant will
allow the city to continue its work with the two schools to
construct a " much-needed aviation maintenance training
facility at our airport, " Ken Larking, Danville's city manager,
writes in an email.
" This project will create jobs and create additional
economic opportunities for people who live in our region, "
Larking says. The investment will also " play a pivotal role in
enhancing community infrastructure and building a skilled
workforce, " Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin writes in an EDA
release. According to the release, the grant will be matched
with $2.7 million in local funds.
Averett University students will use the facility for flight
instruction activities provided by the school, which is the
fixed-base operator for the airport and provides aviation
services like fueling and maintenance.
The university officially became the airport's fixed-base
operator in 2021, after having a presence there for 40 years
12 * Cooperative Living * August 2024
and operating its aeronautics program out of the George
J. Falk Flight Operations Center next door to the main
terminal, where the FBO is located. Danville Community
College students would also use the facility to offer aviation
maintenance training, following approval from the Federal
Aviation Administration to do so, according to city officials.
If approved, DCC would be only the second organization
in Virginia to offer a public aviation maintenance training
school. The other is the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport.
" The aviation maintenance training program will generate
a local workforce that will support employment objectives for
aviation business, " according to a project description on the
city's website. This training program could generate high-paying
jobs for people in the city of Danville and also supports the
growth of Averett's aeronautics program, the description states.
There are 120 students enrolled in the aeronautics school,
which involves classroom training on Averett's campus and
at the airport. " This project would allow for all aviation flight
training activities to occur under one roof, which is expected
to further enhance enrollment and airport development, "
according to the description.
*
This article comes from
Cardinal News, an online
nonprofit news agency based
in Southwest Virginia.
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learn more about
Cardinal News.
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RENDERING COURTESY THE CITY OF DANVILLE
PHOTO COURTESY AVERETT UNIVERSITY
https://cardinalnews.org/ http://www.co-opliving.com
CL-August 2024

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