Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics cut the ribbon on its $1.3 million expansion of its campus in Youngstown, Ohio, Sept. 20, 2017.
In 2016, PIA invested $1.3 million in its purchase of the site and construction of a new two-story teaching facility at its Hangar 3 site. This new facility includes electrical and welding classrooms, an aeronautics lab, a conference facility, administrative offices, and a student resource center with a computer lab.
The adjacent hangar features specialized shop areas for aircraft propulsion systems, electricity, sheet metal, hydraulics, instruments & controls, composite materials, non-destructive testing, welding, and painting.
“Our expansion is a continued expression of the Youngstown region’s strong history in aviation,” said Suzanne Markle, president and CEO of the non-profit PIA. “Our investment in our facilities and our students is in response to strong career demand. We look forward to the opportunity to serve new students and prepare them with the entry-level technical skills we know our employers seek.”
According to the 2016 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook, between 2017 and 2035 the aviation industry will need more than 2 million new aviation personnel, including 679,000 maintenance technicians worldwide.
Since 2006, PIA’s Youngstown Branch campus has been training certified and work-ready aviation maintenance technicians with a 16-month diploma program in Aviation Maintenance Technology. With a 94% placement rate and a student-focused average ratio of 10 students for every instructor, the Youngstown-Warren campus was honored as a 2016 School of Excellence by the Accrediting Commission of Career School and Colleges (ACCSC).
PIA’s campuses in Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Hagerstown and Myrtle Beach have been selected as four of approximately 40 aircraft maintenance schools to partner with Delta Air Lines in an effort to find the schools whose graduates are able to meet or exceed their high expectations.
The school was opened by Glenn Curtiss and Orville Wright in 1927 as Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, and became PIA in 1929.