Aerospace Engineering Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New W.Va. Vocational Aviation Program Expected To Stimulate High-Tech Job Growth

Twenty-five million taxpayer dollars will help build a new aviation maintenance training hangar at the North Central West Virginia Airport in Bridgeport.

Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 1029 into law Thursday. During the recently completed special legislative session, the proposal sparked contentious debate in the House of Delegates on whether this was a legislative priority.

“Everyone should be incredibly proud because this is an incredible moment for everyone here,” Justice said. “My dad was a captain in the Air Force in World War II and he always said, ‘It is an honor flying with you.’ That’s exactly how I feel today.”

The law provides funds for the new home of Pierpont Community & Technical College’s aviation maintenance technology program.

The 70,000 square-foot facility will give the Pierpont program a significant increase in space, allowing for a boost in annual enrollment from 130 to 200 students per year.

Currently, the program has a waitlist of students who are immediately recruited into high-paying jobs after earning a one- to two-year degree.

Pierpont Board of Governors Chair David Hinkle said this facility is a regional game changers.

“The importance of this school, to the businesses up here is just unbelievable,” Hinkle said. “Without this school, we wouldn’t have the industry and we wouldn’t have the growth that’s available. Our school right now is at capacity. It’s going to be a game changer for the airport and the industry that we’ll be able to bring in here.”

Pierpont President Dr. Milan Hayward said the investment in the college and region’s economic future goes beyond a private success.

“It’s a public good,” Hayward said. “The evidence of that is this significant investment in the future of aerospace technology in West Virginia.”

The proposed design features two high bay hangers, aviation-related specialty labs, including shops for turbine and reciprocating engine overhauls, flight controls and hydraulics, lecture classrooms, and a learning resource and testing center. Pierpont’s Advanced Welding program will also have shops and classrooms within the facility.

For more information on Pierpont Community & Technical College and its Aviation Maintenance Technology program, visit pierpont.edu.

$500 Million Solar Energy Powered Aerospace Plant Coming To Jackson County

Gov. Jim Justice announced that Berkshire Hathaway Energy is investing $500 million and purchasing more than 2,000 acres of state-owned land in Ravenswood, West Virginia. They will develop a first of its kind, renewable energy microgrid powered industrial hub.

The first announced business on the site is the Precision Castparts Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway incorporated business. The company will develop a facility that will use 100 percent renewable energy to manufacture titanium products for aerospace and other industries.

“This project demonstrates how investing in clean energy can revive economies that have served our country’s energy needs for decades,” said BHE Renewables President and CEO Alicia Knapp. “We are thrilled to partner with PCC and West Virginia to deliver this landmark renewable energy solution, hundreds of jobs and significant economic development.”

PCC Metals President Steve Wright added, “Our future facility is an outstanding opportunity to use clean energy as we invest in further strengthening our position as a world leader in titanium metals. Manufacturing our products with 100% renewable energy benefits PCC and our customers as we strive to minimize the impact of our operations and wisely use natural resources.”

Justice said the Ravenswood project will serve as the foundation for additional pivotal investments in West Virginia.

“This is a monumental announcement that will pay dividends for generations to come. The partnership we are forging with BHE Renewables and PCC is testament to West Virginia’s ability to compete on the world stage and recruit world-class companies like these to our state,” Justice said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the fact that West Virginia will help lead the way into a new era of renewable energy microgrid-powered manufacturing. I can never thank BHE Renewables and PCC enough for their commitment to West Virginia and for the jobs and economic ripple effects this partnership will bring.”

The announcement comes one day after the legislature passed a bill that creates a certified industrial business expansion development program to recruit and develop renewable energy industries.

The Jackson County site, former home of the Century Aluminum plant, is one of two green industrial sites included in the new law. The second site is yet to be determined.

February 19, 1943: Aerospace Engineer and Author Homer Hickam Born

Author Homer Hickam Jr. was born in Coalwood on February 19, 1943. After serving in Vietnam, he worked for NASA for 17 years as an aerospace engineer. During this time, he wrote his first book, Torpedo Junction. His second book, published in 1998, brought Hickam international acclaim.

Rocket Boys: A Memoir recalls Hickam’s childhood in McDowell County. The true story depicts the waning days of mining in Coalwood, where Hickam’s dad worked as a mine superintendent. Inspired by the 1950s space race, Hickam and five close friends from Big Creek High School build and launch rockets from an abandoned coal dump they name “Cape Coalwood.” Their study of amateur rocketry then earns the boys the top prize at the 1960 National Science Fair.

The bestseller was picked as one of the New York Times’s ‘‘Great Books of 1998’’ and was nominated by the National Book Critics Circle as the Best Biography of the year. The following year, Rocket Boys was turned into the hit movie October Sky.

Hickam followed up Rocket Boys with another popular memoir entitled The Coalwood Way and has since written a series of novels.