CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Marshall University Bill Noe Flight School is officially cleared for takeoff.
Officials with Marshall, Yeager Airport and public leaders broke ground for the school on Thursday at the airport that is expected to enroll more than 200 students when it begins in August 2021.
Marshall and Yeager Airport began the process of considering a flight school in May 2018 when the airport’s board signed a memorandum of understanding with Marshall on the possibility of starting it.
More than two years later, Marshall President Dr. Jerome Gilbert said Thursday is a special day for the entire community.
“I knew this day was coming but to actually be here and think about the reality of it is really fantastic,” Gilbert told MetroNews.
Gilbert said the school will offer a four-year bachelor’s degree that will result in a commercial aviation pilot of single and multi-engine aircraft. There are also planned courses at Marshall’s South Charleston campus for those interested in airline dispatching, operations and managing and will lead to a series of FAA certifications.
“This is going to be transformative for Marshall. We think it’s going to add a dimension,” Gilbert said.
“We are also doing a program at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington. Between these two programs, we feel like we are going to spur economic development in Southern West Virginia.”
The first build of the $4.5 million in construction will be a 10,500-square-foot classroom building and a 12,000-square-foot hangar close to the general aviation area at the airport. Yeager has already built a GA roadway that will lead the way to the school.
Nick Keller, the Yeager Airport Director told MetroNews it’s incredible they can move forward with the flight school during the pandemic. He said there have been no delays in planning and construction.
“Given the COVID-19 pandemic, there were obvious concerns about whether the project would be slowed down. Thankfully, Marshall decided to continue with their investment and move forward. I think it positions West Virginia really well for when the pandemic ends,” Keller said.
We have officially broken ground on the Marshall University Bill Noe Flight School. We could not be more excited about the future of this program. Thank you to everyone who came out this morning! pic.twitter.com/Avmh35gJkp
— Yeager Airport (@YeagerAirport) August 13, 2020
Keller, Gilbert and other officials met in August 2019 at the airport for another step in the project, a compact signing and ribbon cutting for an aerospace industry partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and West Virginia Department of Commerce.
During July’s airport board meeting, Keller discussed to the board the opportunity to proceed with the partnership with the WVDE and Kanawha County Schools to potentially create a pipeline of students in aviation education.
“Our vision is to be the most important economic engine for the state of West Virginia through advances in aviation and education,” Keller said. “This fulfills the education component of the vision because now we have a school that can help train students and helps make a workforce ready for aviation jobs.”
Gilbert said with the partnership he expects to draw plenty of students from West Virginia but also the country.
“We have a lot of students that are in West Virginia studying the aviation sciences so I think there are going to be a lot of students from West Virginia that will be naturally interested in this program,” Gilbert told MetroNews.
“But we expect to draw nationally for this program. It will be a premiere program, we expect it to be one of the top programs in the country.”