IAT students aim to be first at fixing flight

Four students are removing panels from inside the fuselage of a sporty red plane at the Aviation Systems Technology Program at Craven Community College in Havelock.

The airplane is a Grumman AA-1A and is the newest addition to the school's growing list of aircraft.

"We're doing a 100-hour inspection," says student Danny Toler of Vanceboro "We're pretty much tearing the whole thing apart."

"Taking it apart," David Martin says, correcting him.

Martin, 42, of Havelock, is one of the older students in the program.

"We're taught to pay attention to details," he says. "Everything is taken apart methodically. We go down the list. It's a nice little plane. I can't believe they're letting us take it apart."

Two months ago, it was flown from Charlotte and donated to the program, which now has 13 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters on which students can study and work.

Many of them are housed in a large hangar at the back of the Aeronautical Institute of Technology.

Walking in the front doors of the school, one is confronted with an AV-8A Harrier powerplant from one of the

first vertical takeoff or landing jets. The intricate guts of the engine are dizzying but not to the graduates of this school.

The main mission with the program is to prepare students for the Federal Aviation Administration airframe and powerplant examinations.

About 40 AST students have gone on to work at Fleet Readiness Center East at Cherry Point.

Student Megan Richey, of Trent Woods, is a CCC ambassador and is currently in an internship program at FRC East. She is working at the H-1 Aircraft Production Program repairing H1-N Huey and AH-1W Cobra helicopters.

"This college has given me a second chance in the aviation world," Richey said. "I went to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and ran out of money.

"Everyday I'm able to perform jobs that would be beneficial in the aviation industry."

Program director Lee Ashburn is proud of his students and what they have been able to accomplish.

"This is a good group. They enjoy what they're doing," Ashburn said. "This is everybody's favorite activity, coming out into the hangar with the airplanes."

The program has 39 full-time students, with 70 more taking continuing education classes at night for sheet metal and for their FAA airframe and powerplant certification.

Brandon Ormond, 20, of Bridgeton, is in his first year in the program.

"It's fun. I love it," he said. "I was going to be a pilot, but I went to a mechanic shop and I didn't like the way they worked on planes. So, when I get my airframe and powerplant certification, I can work on the planes myself."