West Star Aviation in Grand Junction, Colo., has donated a Learjet Model 35A airframe to Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely.
The donated aircraft will be used by the college to allow Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) students to develop the skills they learn in school on a real aircraft. According to Larry McNutt, director of maintenance for West Star Aviation, “as expensive as aircraft can be, it is hard for an A&P school to acquire real aircraft with which to train their students. This airframe will be a big asset for Colorado Northwestern Community College in allowing their students to learn and train in a real world environment.”
West Star Aviation acquired the jet in late 2009 as a parts donor aircraft for a project it was completing for a foreign government. Dave Krogman, General Manager for West Star said, “It was a perfectly airworthy aircraft when it arrived in August 2009. It flew into Grand Junction under its own power. As part of a large rebuild project on another Learjet, we knew we needed a lot of replacement parts, and in our case a donor aircraft was far more efficient than buying individual parts.” Krogman continued, “at the end of the project, we are left with the basic airframe and we thought it would be a good asset for the college.”
West Star Aviation, Inc. specializes in airframe repair and maintenance, engine repair and maintenance, major modifications, avionics installation and repair, interior refurbishment, paint, parts, surplus avionics sales, and accessory services. With facilities in East Alton, Ill.; Grand Junction; Columbia, S.C.; Aspen; and Dallas, the company also provides complete FBO services for transient aircraft at its newly remodeled East Alton and Grand Junction facilities. For more information: WestStarAviation.com or 800-922-2421.
