MLive: Students would learn how to fix airplanes in new Jackson County tech school

A new program under development at the Jackson County Airport aims to give local students a chance to earn the necessary licenses to start a career in aviation maintenance right after high school.

Airport officials are currently seeking grant funding to establish an “Aviation Maintenance Technician School” in Jackson County.

The program would be open to 11th and 12th graders and high school graduates looking to earn a federally certified airframe and powerplant license. The license is required to obtain a job as an aviation maintenance technician, said Airport Manager Juan Zapata.

“This is one of those aviation careers that are greatly in need throughout the United States,” Zapata said. “The facility that we’re proposing would be used to train aircraft mechanics that will be able to find jobs all over the country.”

Though there might not be a high demand for such jobs in the Jackson County area, the aviation industry nationwide is short by about 4,000 qualified mechanics annually, Zapata said.

Airport management submitted a $750,000 grant application for Congressionally Directed Spending to the offices of U.S. Rep Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, in March. A resolution of support for the application will be up for approval at the next Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting April 15.

The school could be established and open for applicants by the end of September 2025 if the grant is approved, Zapata said.

The school would be housed in an existing corporate hangar at the Jackson County Airport, which airport officials plan to purchase for $350,000. An additional $50,000-100,000 will be required to update the building, as well as about $350,000-400,000 to fully furnish the school with all the required training aids, machinery and tools to get full federal certification, according to the grant application.

The hangar has room to accommodate about 15-20 students, Zapata said. If the program continues to grow, the airport could raise funds to build a dedicated maintenance facility in the future.

The training would be jointly run by the Jackson County Airport and qualified instructors from Zephyr Systems, a drone manufacturer and training company, Zapata said.

The airport is currently working with the Jackson County Intermediate School District to establish curriculum. The ultimate goal is to have the classes adopted as an official JCISD program, Zapata said.

Until the school can generate tuition as part of the JCISD, operations will be funded through local private donors, Zapata said, adding the airport has already received commitments of about $100,000 from private fundraising.

The program will provide training at no cost to high school students, with a small fee for high school graduates, Zapata said.

The training would take high schoolers about two hours a day for four semesters, and about 13 months for graduates.