Somerset County Technology Center launches aviation maintenance program, receives donated Piper plane – TribDem.com

Occasional snow showers. Continued very cold. Low around 15F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..
Occasional snow showers. Continued very cold. Low around 15F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Updated: January 23, 2025 @ 6:58 pm
Somerset Technology Center administrator Karen Remick (left) and Instructor Joshua Dibert (near right) talk to students in the school’s first-even aviation maintenance technology class. 
Somerset County Technology Center Instructor Joshua Dibert and student Zoe Bonnell, 15, of Confluence, take a look inside a Piper Comanche that was donated to the aviation program.
The new plane’s delivery served as lesson for St. Francis University aviation maintenance students, including Hayden Sutton, of Ebensburg, who used specialized jacks to check the aircraft’s landing gear. 
Somerset Technology Center staff and students discuss plans for the Piper aircraft, which was donated to the new aviation technology program.Â

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Somerset Technology Center administrator Karen Remick (left) and Instructor Joshua Dibert (near right) talk to students in the school’s first-even aviation maintenance technology class. 
Somerset County Technology Center Instructor Joshua Dibert and student Zoe Bonnell, 15, of Confluence, take a look inside a Piper Comanche that was donated to the aviation program.
The new plane’s delivery served as lesson for St. Francis University aviation maintenance students, including Hayden Sutton, of Ebensburg, who used specialized jacks to check the aircraft’s landing gear. 
Somerset Technology Center staff and students discuss plans for the Piper aircraft, which was donated to the new aviation technology program. 
Nathaniel Orris has had a passion for aircraft since he began attending airshows with his family, he said.
The Stoystown teenager and three Somerset County Technology Center classmates took their interest in aviation to new heights Thursday.
It was their first day as students in the tech center’s new aviation maintenance technology program – the first of its kind statewide for high school students, said Karen Remick, the tech center’s administrative director.
The course was designed as a partnership with St. Francis University’s aviation maintenance technician program – but Somerset County Technology Center students won’t need to travel to John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Richland Township to get hands-on experience.
Tech center students arrived at St. Francis’ aviation education center Thursday for their first glimpse of the 1959 Piper Comanche single-engine airplane that will be a core teaching tool in their lessons.
“We’re just thrilled,” Remick said as the class arrived to see the aircraft parked inside.
The aircraft will be based at Somerset County Technology Center, 281 Technology Drive, Somerset, for what is envisioned as a three-year course, instructor Joshua Dibert said. It was donated by the founder of the YouTube channel Rebuild Rescue.
A community of aviation enthusiasts partnered over the past year to make the tech center’s program possible, said Remick and St. Francis aviation program chairman Marius Strom.
St. Francis’ 21-month aviation maintenance technician program launched in August, with its second group of students enrolling to start this summer. The program is designed as a 55-credit course over five semesters.
Strom said the Somerset tech center’s program will give Somerset County students a head start. They will familiarize themselves with an aircraft that is almost identical to one that St. Francis students use – and complete the first semester’s worth of coursework.
Once tech center students finish high school, they can transition to the St. Francis program for the final 18 months of work needed to take the airframe certification test, Dibert said. That will save time and money, he added.
The ultimate goal is to train as many students as possible locally for an industry that’s short of aviation maintenance talent, he and Strom said.
Defense and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which has facilities in Richland Township and Davidsville, employs nearly 500 people in the area – and “would hire more today if we could,” said Lockheed Martin human resources manager Pat McCann.
“We’re recruiting heavily right now,” he said, adding that programs such as the Somerset tech center’s will create a consistent pool of new talent in the region. 
“This is putting our young people on a great career path that will allow them to earn a good living,” McCann said, “and they can stay here in the community.”
When St. Francis officials first launched their program for high school graduates last fall, they said entry-level careers for airframe- and powerplant-certified workers start at $50,000.
Somerset County Technology Center student Logan Glessner, of Berlin, said he’s aiming to join Lockheed Martin after he graduates and completes the St. Francis program. Starting early at the tech center will mean he’ll be able to get to work sooner, he said.
“This is great,” said Orris, 16, who plans to enter the U.S. Army after school and eventually work on military helicopters.
McCann said Lockheed Martin encourages its employees to continue their education, with company support, so they can climb the company ladder to better-paying positions and management roles.
But he and Brianna Pavkovich, St. Francis’ aviation maintenance technician school director, stressed that the career path prepares students for a broad array of jobs outside the aviation industry.
Whether it’s elevator repair or HVAC, or assembly line work for local employers such as Galliker Dairy Co. or Pepsi, “this program is going to prepare you for the skill set you need to succeed,” McCann said.
The Piper Comanche plane was flown to Richland Township last month and is being donated to the Somerset County Technology Center.
Jason Morrison, a Pennsylvania mechanic whose YouTube channel Rebuild Rescue documents his efforts to revive cast-off aircraft, acquired the plane from an Arizona family who wanted to see the plane find a new home, Strom said.
“He understands the need for aircraft (maintenance) workers,” he said, adding that Morrison was eager to help.
Morrison, who wasn’t reached for comment, planned to attend Thursday’s event, but had to cancel because of illness, Strom said. But program partners said his donation will have a big impact.
“If I’m a high school freshman and I arrived at the tech center and see that aircraft, I’m going to want to be a part of the program. It’s going to build up interest,” said Ronald Donaldson, a Lockheed Martin safety officer who also serves on the tech center’s joint operating committee.
Remick said the aircraft will be stored for now in an oversized carport on campus. The tech center is aiming to break ground – perhaps late this year – on a dedicated building large enough to occupy the aviation maintenance program and the school’s popular welding program, she said.
“We know this program is going to grow,” she said.
David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TDDavidHurst and InstagramÂ@TDDavidHurst.
St Francis aviation maintenance program: www.francis.edu/academics/degrees-programs/amt
Somerset County Technology Center program:
https://sctc.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/SCTC-AviationFlyer5.pdf
With students already taking classes behind the scenes, local, state and federal leaders gathered at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport to mark the St. Francis aviation maintenance technician program’s startup and the opening of the Aviation Education Center.
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