Iowa Western Community College is partnering with The Nebraska Flight Center on a pilot training program. It's a two-academic-year program that doesn't require students to be enrolled in a degree program.
- With Baby Boomers retiring and the demand for air transportation growing — pilots are needed.
- "There has always, always been a growing need for good pilots," said David Silchman, founder of The Nebraska Flight Center.
- "But there's a huge demand, currently, from returning adult students who don't need degrees," said Chris Johnson, the program project manager.
- Flight instructor Ryan Brace says there's a wide range of opportunities, including agriculture, firefighting, and search and rescue: "If you can think of an industry, there's probably an aviation category that goes with it."
- There's an open house at The Nebraska Flight Center on Wednesday at 5:30 P.M., 3636 Wilbur Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska.
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY HERE
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Tens of thousands of aviation jobs will be available in the next few years. It's why Iowa Western Community College and the Nebraska Flight Center are partnering on a program to help meet that need. I'm your neighborhood reporter, Katrina Markel, at Eppley Airfield.
"I went on my first flight when I was 8 years old with my uncle and I fell in love with it," said Chris Johnson.
He is the program manager for the Nebraska Flight Center's partnership with Iowa Western.
"It provides a structured program that is actually non-degreed," he said.
Between retiring Baby Boomers and a growing demand for air transportation, Johnson told me that more pilots are needed.
"But there's a huge demand, currently, from returning adult students who don't need degrees," Johnson said.
"There has always, always been a growing need for good pilots."
That's David Silchman. He founded The Nebraska Flight Center more than 20 years ago after moving to Nebraska and seeing a need.
"One of my goals has always been to partner with an educational institution," he said.
It's a two-academic-year program for aspiring aviators at all levels, including dual-enrolled high school students.
Ryan Brace: "I'm really excited to get the opportunity to train those students and teach them."
Gretna native Ryan Brace studied aviation at UNO and is now an instructor.
"The biggest part for me is community in aviation," he said. "If I walk up to a guy sitting by his airplane, he'll tell me about it probably for hours on end."
Brace says there's a wide range of opportunities, including agriculture, firefighting, and search and rescue.
"If you can think of an industry, there's probably an aviation category that goes with it," said Brace.
Classes start in August.
For anyone interested in learning more, The Nebraska Flight Center has an open house on Wednesday at 5:30.
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