Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

HSU Airway Building Plans Are Completed

Henderson State University's Airway Science Building should be ready by the time classes start in Aug. 1996, according to Dr. Jerry Robinson, director of aviation at the school.

He told this to the members of the Gurdon Rotary Club at its regular meeting Thursday, Sept. 7. Robinson said the aviation program at HSU began in 1978 in order to recognized the fact members of the American military were trained in the aviation field during the Vietnam War. He said when they returned to the U.S., they needed to be recognized for the knowledge they possessed.

Until 1987, Robinson said the aviation program had no direct supervision, and was on the chopping block as a course at Henderson. However, the current president of the college brought in a consultant to see if the program was worth saving, and learned it was, and hired a full-time director. At this time, the aviation program was a technical training program teaching its students how to fly.

The program was strengthened to include classes on air safety and to give the students a basic understanding of the types of aircraft they would most likely be flying, along with how these planes fly. The curriculum also was expanded to include aerodynamics.

The most students enrolled in the aviation program at one time was 168, with current enrollment standing at 125. Robinson said this is not an inexpensive course for its students. In fact, it costs an additional $25,000 for four years over and above the other costs of being at HSU.

According to Robinson, this is a bad time for the airline industry because several major airlines have shut down, with others seeking protection from their creditors under bankruptcy. "Students aren't getting jobs when they get out of school," he said. "And parents don't want to spend the extra money if their children aren't getting jobs."

However, he said things are turning around for the industry, and jobs should be opening soon. The Federal Aviation Administration has a mandatory retirement age for pilots of 60. This means older pilots will be retiring, which opens up job opportunities. Robinson said about 30,000 new jobs will open in the industry in the next five years.

"Our program is pretty well positioned," he said. "We are preparing our students to do a good job in the industry. Our program compares well with other aeronautic programs in the nation."

He said the new building will be 27,000 square feet when it's completed. Robinson told the Rotarians the school began seeking grant money for the project about four years ago, got it through the airway-science program, lost it due to budget cuts and managed to get it again through the California Earthquake Bill. The building is currently under construction, with the slab scheduled to be poured soon.

The Airway Science Building is located across from Newberry Hall and will house an auditorium which will seat 120. It will also have a simulator lab, a computerized testing lab, which will allow students to get instant results back from the FAA on their tests. It will also house the distance learning lab, which will link HSU courses to high school classrooms across the state, beginning with Arkadelphia and Malvern.

Robinson said the structure will have six classrooms, each equipped with television monitors, computer terminals and rear screen projectors.

Students in the program can choose from five different bachelor of science curricula: professional pilot, aircraft system management, airway science management,airway computer science or aircraft maintenance management, if this course is approved.