Beaver County Aviation Academy gives high school students early start on career

Retired Air Force Col. Bill Pinter left a National Training Aircraft Symposium conference in spring 2014 feeling inspired.

He had just heard about aviation industry estimates placing demand at 4,000 commercial pilots a year — and wondered how, as dean of the School of Aviation Sciences at the Community College of Beaver County, he might address the need.

What if he offered high school students a chance to take aviation classes as early as sophomore year?

“We need for the next generation, which is the college and high school students, to say, ‘This is something I'm interested in doing,' ” Pinter said.

Aviation Academy began the following January with 27 students. In its third semester, the program has 63 high school students enrolled. This fall, a satellite campus at Parkway West Career and Technology Center will start with partnerships in at least 13 Allegheny County school districts.

Aviation Academy allows high school students to enroll as CCBC students and take two college aviation courses each semester. They gain up to 38 college credits by attending classes four days a week. The curriculum includes flight courses.

In the course of a week, Pinter said, 20 to 25 students typically take flight lessons.

“That's magical,” Pinter said. “When you spark something like that and people are like, ‘I'm in,' that's magical.”

Austin Jones, 16, and Luke Frioni, 15, heard Pinter talk about Aviation Academy at Western Beaver School District. The pitch appealed to their professional aspirations: Jones wants to fly fighter jets in the Marine Corps, and Frioni wants to go to West Point.

“I think it's pretty cool that we get introduced to the college environment so early,” Frioni said.

Courses take place at the Aviation Sciences Center near the Beaver County Airport, where students can practice with flight simulators and mock control towers. Disciplines are offered for professional pilots, air traffic controllers and unmanned aerial vehicle operators. Accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration, the school is one of six aviation schools in Pennsylvania and among the best-known in the nation.

To Pinter, opening the school's doors to younger students gives them a head start at a career that pays $250,000 or more, at community college prices.

“What we are trying to do is really open their eyes to the opportunities,” he said.

Maverick Davis, 17, a student at Blackhawk High School, hopes to become a professional pilot. The college environment appeals to him just as much as aviation, noting the attention the students receive in small classes.

“College professors don't give up,” he said. “They treat every student like No. 1.”

More than 30 districts are associated with Aviation Academy this year, including those signed on to send students to the satellite campus in the fall. Marianne Cibulas, the career education coordinator at Quaker Valley High School, said the program can help give students direction.

“A course like this might make a student who is slightly disenfranchised from school really find the spark he or she needs,” she said.

CCBC President Christopher Reber calls Aviation Academy one of the highlights of his 30-plus years as an educator.

“What this is proving to be is a really transformational opportunity for the students,” Reber said. “I think it's the kind of thing that needs to happen increasingly across the country.”

Melissa Daniels is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8511 or mdaniels@tribweb.com.