Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review, February 4, 2022

AVC aerospace training flying high at Fox Field

by Larry Grooms consistently enroll an average be-
special to Aerotech News tween 300 to 400 students in a range
of programs running from weeks-
LANCASTER, Calif.—Southern long job certifications to two-year
California’s Aerospace Valley, a re- AA degrees and bachelors’ degrees.
gion best known for building aero- At the heart of the carrier prep
space vehicles, is also a significant training is the leased Aeronautical
and rapidly growing force in building Technology Center’s hands-on and
the skills of the builders. runway-accessible facility at Gen.
Even as the state’s technical indus- William J. Fox County Airfield in
tries entered a third year of skilled Lancaster. The site is comprised of a
workforce shortages, lights are on, 10,000-square-foot hangar, compos-
doors open and classrooms and work- ites lab, computer lab, classrooms
shops humming at Antelope Valley and offices. And the Fox Field site
Community College, the pipeline works in partnership with techni-
between technology employers and cal education classrooms and labs
people qualified and certified to do on both the Lancaster and Palmdale
the work. campuses.
This is not another “gee-whiz re- Students are taught by five full-
port about a miraculous crash pro- time instructors, more than 20 ad-
gram.” It’s just local history with juncts and up to two instructional
some national implications from high assistants.
level state and federal recognition of Interim Dean of Career Techni-
successful innovation arising from a cal Education Maria Clinton, Ed.D,
community college. reports the AVC Aeronautical and
Twenty years after the vocational Aviation Technology (AERO) pro- Photograph by Evelyn Kristo
seed was planted, the college’s home- gram, a two-year Federal Aviation Antelope Valley College President, Ed Knudson, right, talks with students enrolled in the college’s Aeronautical and
grown Aircraft Fabrication and As- Administration-approved AA degree Aviation Technology program, during a grand opening ceremony Feb. 19, 2021, celebrating the school’s newest teaching
sembly (AFAB); Aeronautical and for students seeking to work on U.S.- facility at Fox Field in Lancaster, Calif. The new facility is comprised of a 10,000 square-foot hangar, composite lab,
Aviation Technology (AERO), and registered aircraft anywhere in the computer lab and classroom/office space. The AERO program , a two-year program approved by the FAA, is designed
Airframe Manufacturing Technology world, began in 1991. for students who are interested in working on U.S. registered aircraft and continues to be a launching pad for many
programs under the Aeronautical Sci- Across the full range of AVC’s students who succeed in aerospace careers.
ences & Technology Department now aeronautical career education pro- grams, students have gone on to class. In the winter months, I’d go in a job similar to their field of study
become supervisors, managers and early just to let him keep warm in the and saw a nearly doubling in wages.
directors earning six-figure incomes classroom.” Strong Workforce funding has al-
after taking either Airframe & Pow- She adds, “It’s amazing to see the lowed Antelope Valley College to
erplant or Aircraft Fabrication and progress and dynamic, positive ef- accommodate growing enrollment
Assembly Certificate programs. fect that these programs can have on by building additional composite and
In addition, AVC is one of only a a student’s life and future — and dur- structure labs, purchase new equip-
few community colleges in the Unit- ing times of financial uncertainty like ment, and improve an array of pro-
ed States offering composites fabrica- this, this is more needed than ever.” gram facilities.
tion and repair through an eight-week Asked about memorable success “Without the support of the dis-
program in Aircraft Fabrication and stories, Clinton reports some gradu- trict and Strong Workforce dollars,
Assembly (AFAB). ates also became expert adjunct fac- programs like this would not be able
The AFAB allows students to in- ulty for the Aeronautical Sciences & to meet industry demands,” said
terview with aerospace companies Technology Department, teaching Clinton, former department chair and
Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Mar- classes they attended as students. current Interim Dean of Career Edu-
tin and others, immediately earning One of those students, Marlene Ru- cation. “The industry is hiring and
more than $25 per hour. valcaba, a former USC pre-law stu- we’re providing them with skilled
For those looking to complete a dent, saw a news report and thought, students who are job ready.”
four-year degree, AVC offers an Air- “I had no experience with aerospace The Aeronautical Sciences &
frame Manufacturing Technology or aviation and didn’t even know Technology Program comprises Air-
bachelor’s degree program created the program existed, but it looked craft Fabrication & Assembly and
by the regional aerospace industry to intriguing,” Ruvalcaba recalled in Aeronautical & Aviation Technology
encourage students to join the ranks an AVC article. Enrolling in June of (Airframe & Powerplant), in addi-
of manufacturer and production-line 2016, she studied for one semester tion to the Aircraft Manufacturing
engineers. and four classes before receiving Technology Bachelor of Science
Clinton says the AVC Aeronautical three job offers. Working full time degree that is part of the California
Careers Technology programs boast as a composite technician for The Community Colleges Baccalaureate
more than 2,000 graduates in four Spaceship Company, while simulta- Pilot Program. Students in the Air-
years with 94 percent job placement neously stayed in school to earn an craft Fabrication & Assembly track
in new careers with opportunities for associate degree and continuing with are guaranteed to sit for a job inter-
upward mobility and financial stabil- the first cohort of students in AVC’s view with Northrop Grumman after
ity. The certificate is credit- bearing groundbreaking Aircraft Manufactur- just one semester of required courses
and works with two-and four-year ing Technology Bachelor of Science — a semester that many students opt
academic programs. degree program. to condense into an accelerated eight-
“Our students reflect a broad range Now a quality engineer with The week schedule.
of backgrounds, ethnicities, and gen- Spaceship Company, she also serves Ruvalcaba was quoted as saying,
ders. In recent years, we have seen as an AVC adjunct instructor. “I get students who are 18 years old,
Photograph by Evelyn Kristo more women joining the aviation Clinton remarks, “Support of the fresh out of high school, who have
Antelope Valley College students, Ryan Sinclair, left, and Eddy Ramirez check ranks,” Clinton continued. “Many (AVC) district and the Chancellor’s no experience whatsoever, but who
out spark plugs on a reciprocating four-cylinder engine inside the school’s students enroll directly from high Office award-winning Strong Work- decide they just want to give it a shot
newest teaching facility at Fox Field in Lancaster, Calif., where local and school school. Others come out of homeless- force Program Funding Dollars, are and a few months later, they’re work-
dignitaries gathered for a grand opening ceremony Feb. 19, 2021. The new ness, and some are coming back to having an effect in putting people ing at one of the largest aerospace
facility is comprised of a 10,000 square-foot hangar, composite lab, computer school for a change in career. to work. The Aircraft Fabrication & companies in the world.”
lab and classroom/office space. The Aeronautical and Aviation Technology “Some students drive an hour-and- Assembly track is among the most Clinton agreed, “Everyone in the
(AERO) program , a two-year program approved by the FAA, is designed for a-half from L.A. to get to class,” he effective career training programs in
students who are interested in working on U.S. registered aircraft and continues said. “I had one student from Te- the state based on data showing that Valley knows that if you want to get
to be a launching pad for many students who succeed in aerospace careers. a job at Northrop Grumman, you go
hachapi who rode a bus, arriving (on virtually every student earning a de-
campus) at 5 a.m. for an 8 o’clock gree or certificate was employed in See AVC, Page 4

February 4, 2022 Aerotech News and Review 3
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