The university’s strategic location in central Pennsylvania provides unique advantages for aviation education. “When we started this maintenance training school, our goal was to address industry needs in a meaningful way,” says Br. Marius Strom, Engineering Instructor at Saint Francis.“If you think of central Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, what usually comes to mind are steel and coal. But, just in the Johnstown area, we have Kongsberg, Leonardo DRS, Lockheed Martin Aeroparts, the Army National Guard, and other manufacturers and employers who are either already in the aviation space or that are aviation adjacent. It seemed like a great location to establish an aviation maintenance training school.” The programs serve multiple purposes: contributing to nationwide aviation workforce needs while addressing local demand. This approach creates a sustainable talent pipeline that benefits both students seeking stable careers and employers requiring specialized skills. As commercial air travel continues to rebound post-pandemic and the defense sector maintains strong demand, Saint Francis University is positioning its graduates at the intersection of opportunity and industry need. THE EVOLUTION OF PILOT TRAINING Saint Francis University’s aviation journey began in 2017 with funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to establish a flight training program. This initiative arrived when regional airlines were facing unprecedented pilot shortages following the FAA’s 2013 rule change requiring 1,500 flight hours for commercial airline pilots, a sixfold increase from previous requirements. “In 2017, we started work with Nulton Aviation Services, now known as Nulton Aviation Flight Academy,” Strom explains. “The goal was to get students with no experience through their commercial certificates and get them on the road to becoming flight instructors and professional pilots. We use that pool of flight instructors to teach new students and help those instructors move up the line from there.” The PENNDOT grant provided crucial financial support, enabling Nulton Aviation to expand its facilities while offering students significant cost reductions. “The grants we were able to offer defrayed about 30% of those costs. It was a nice bit of seed money to help students get started on their journeys,” says Strom. The program has shown impressive growth since its modest beginnings. Nulton Aviation has expanded its fleet and increased student enrollment, with graduates returning as flight instructors and creating a sustainable training ecosystem. The university’s aviation specialization demonstrates remarkable flexibility, accommodating various career paths. “Our specialization gives people a pathway 81 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 02 SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY AVIATION PROGRAMS
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