By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Rock Valley College‘s aviation maintenance technology students have a new piece of equipment that sets them apart from other schools in the country.
The Rockford airport hangar that serves as a hands-on classroom for students is now filled with a working Bombardier CRJ 200 airplane. That’s something no other program in the country has, according to Ryan Goertzen, vice president of maintenance workforce development for AAR Corp.
“It looks like an airplane that should be out at O’Hare, not necessarily sitting here,” said Goertzen, whose company partners with Rock Valley to educate and train future airplane mechanics and maintenance technicians. “The auxiliary power unit, both engines, everything on this airplane works as if it was ready to go flying.”
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The plane was acquired with the help of state grant funding and a partnership between RVC, The Workforce Connection, AAR and SkyWest Airlines, which donated the late-1990s-era aircraft.
Leaders of the organizations and students gathered at the college’s facility at the airport on Tuesday to celebrate the aircraft’s arrival.
An aircraft like this would normally cost millions of dollars, but was provided for a little more than $300,000 – most of which was used for maintenance on the aircraft to prepare it to fly to the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.
Amanda Friedman, an aviation student at RVC, said students eagerly tracked the plane’s flight pattern in anticipation of its arrival here. Then, as soon as they had the chance for a lesson, they dove into working on whatever aspect of the plane they could. The first day it was simply checking the tire pressure.
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Friedman, who now works an overnight shift at UPS, said the experience could help her land a new aviation career once she graduates next year.
That’s precisely what AAR Corp. wants. The company, which is a global provider of aviation services, operates a maintenance, overhaul repair facility – or MRO – at the airport where it works on United Boeing 737s and some military aircraft.
The experience students will gain working on this new aircraft will get them job ready to work at AAR.
“This is what’s called a transport category airplane, which means it’s built under the same regulation as a Boeing 737,” Goertzen said. “They’re going to go work United Boeing 737s from this school, so this really bridges the gap.”
AAR has partnered with RVC on an education pathway program to prepare students to move directly into the aviation workforce. Goertzen said the MRO wants to grow its workforce up to 400 in the coming year.
“These aren’t jobs, they’re careers,” he said.
The state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity awarded The Workforce Connection a $2.6 million grant in 2021 to work with AAR and RVC on the fast-track workforce development program. That money allowed for the program to expand and in-turn allowed AAR to employ more people at its facility here.
“All of that is about really growing their skills and experience in school before they come to us,” Goertzen said. “Now that they have this it’s going to be transformational for their students.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.