EXCHANGE: Learjet a new training ground for college students
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - As aviation mechanics students from Lincoln Land Community College mounted a wingtip fuel tank onto a Learjet 24B inside a hangar recently at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, program director David Pietrzak explained that the jet isn't the most fuel-efficient model.
'œThese are very fuel-hungry aircraft,'ť Pietrzak said. 'œYou have these two torpedo-looking tanks on the wing tips, plus you have a hollow wing that completely fills with jet fuel and there's another (gas) tank in the aft fuselage.
'œThis was a very high-performance aircraft. This thing would handle like a fighter jet. It was actually designed after a Swiss fighter jet.'ť
The Learjet is the newest teaching tool for the 30 students in the LLCC program. Instructors like Pietrzak can show students the alignment of the jet's structures and they will also be able to work on assembly and rigging. It will also have an operational engine that students can work on along with a number of systems supporting the engine.
The aircraft was donated by Bob Brandis of Brandis Aviation in Taylorville, which has a long history with LLCC.
The Learjet replaces a Cessna 340 piston aircraft that the college is donating to the Springfield Airport Authority Public Safety Office.
It turns out the Learjet at LLCC has a colorful history of its own. By using its serial number, Pietrzak found out that it once belonged to actor John Travolta, a flight enthusiast and certified private pilot.
Singer/songwriter Paul Anka also owned the jet and there is 'œa strong indication,'ť Pietrzak said, that it is the same chartered aircraft that billionaire and aerospace pioneer Howard Hughes died on in 1976. Hughes was on his way from Acapulco, Mexico, to Houston for emergency medical treatment when he died over south Texas.
For LLCC students, the jet represents training possibilities in a field starved for workers. Pietrzak said that 75 percent of aviation mechanics are older than 50 years old.
'œThe training aid is going to help us equip them with working on all the systems of a modern jet aircraft, whether it be an airliner or a small corporate jet,'ť he said. 'œThey use the same types of the system.'ť
LLCC student Colton Sandidge of Auburn is following his grandfather, Ron Anderson, into the line of work. Anderson worked as a crew chief at Garrett Aviation, now StandardAero, before retiring and opening up his own business working on small reciprocating aircraft.
It is an industry, Sandidge points out, that demands quality standards.
'œYou can't just pull over an aircraft in the sky,'ť said Sandidge, who is interning at StandardAero. ``(The work) has to be done right. We're particular on little things (others) take for granted. That extra level of expertise you need to have is very intriguing to me anyway.'ť
Charley Oakes of Jacksonville, also a student in the program, said he wants to pursue a commercial pilot's license and instructor's license with designs on being a missionary like his father, John Oakes.
'œI'd also like to get my mechanic's license,'ť Charley Oakes said. 'œI want to thoroughly comprehend how an airplane works if I'm going to fly it.'ť
LLCC is one of only three community colleges in the state that has an aviation mechanics training program, Pietrzak said.
While graduates of the program can go to manufacturers like Boeing and Cessna, Pietrzak said, other industries have also come calling for students.
'œAbout 40 percent of those who choose to get an aircraft mechanics certificate end up being drawn off to other industries,'ť he said.
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Source: The (Springfield) State Journal-Register, https://bit.ly/33Mz7FB
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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com