August 21, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer McDonald
Communications Manager
Central New Mexico Community College
(505) 224-4673
CNM’s New Aviation Program to Take Students to New Heights
Central New Mexico Community College has received final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to start the Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics Program, the only program of its kind available in central New Mexico. Students are already enrolled for the fall term.
A kickoff event for the aviation maintenance program will be 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 22) at the CNM Technology Annex, located at 1506 Candelaria Rd. NE near I-25. CNM President Kathie Winograd and FAA officials will be at the event. Participants will be able to take an up-close look at the planes and helicopters the students will work on.
This aviation maintenance program is a seven-term program with classes held at the CNM Technology Annex. Students will learn about FAA regulations as well as the airframe of planes and helicopters, such as how to weld sheet metal, work with rivets and how to make repairs to the frame. The final portion of the program focuses on the “powerplant,” or the engines. Students will learn the elements of gas and jet engines.
It’s taken two years to get the program to final FAA approval, said Jim Berry, director of transportation in the School of Applied Technologies. Staff and faculty worked to get FAA approval of the curriculum. FAA inspectors visited the CNM Technology Annex to test equipment, and they also attended a classroom lecture taught by the instructor.
The program can take 25 students at a time.
Students who successfully complete the program are eligible to take the Airframe and Powerplant licensing exam from the FAA. Students who earn this designation can work in a variety of industries, such as airframe manufacturing, airlines, airports and companies that repair airplane parts.
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