BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education has given final approval for the $23 million Pierpont Community and Technical College aviation training expansion at the North Central West Virginia Airport.
The facility was funded during the 2023 legislative session but has experienced design and land acquisition delays.
State Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker praised Thursday’s approval.
“This is desperately needed by business and industry in the Bridgeport area, and Pierpont Community and Technical College has been wonderful about trying to come up with solutions in the interim until we can get this launched,” Armstrong Tucker said.
Programs at the Pierpont Community and Technical College School of Business, Aviation, and Technology are some of the most popular at the institution and regularly have waiting lists. The school is located just a few hundred feet away from companies like Aurora Flight Sciences, Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin that are growing and looking for workers.
Pierpont President Michael Waide said the 65,000 square feet training facility will feature modern labs, testing space, and aviation maintenance training areas aligned with FAA Part 147 standards. It will allow the program to grow and will include courses for FAA Airframe & Powerplant certification, Waide said.
“We hold a capacity of 130 students, but with this broad expansion it allows us to apply to the FAA and expand our program to 230 students,” Waide said.
The facility will have hangars that will allow students to learn how to work on large aircraft and support systems. The facility will offer some advanced training for students the previous facility could not accommodate.
“We’ll add some innovative ways at looking at how we integrate some welding and fabrication in ways that we have been limited at our current location,” Waide said.
The North Central West Virginia Airport creates economic impact in the region valued at more than $1 billion annually. The most recent investment came from the Canadian company Pratt & Whitney to maintain the engines for the U.S. Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) T-6 trainer fleet.
“Pratt & Whitney Canada just invested $1 billion over nine years into West Virginia,” CTC member Tracy Miller said. “That is the largest investment Pratt & Whitney Canada has ever made as a company.”
Groundbreaking for the Pierpont project could come as early as Oct. 1.