Eastern Ohio High School Offers A&P Program With Real-World Experience

Dave Williams, a Youngstown, Ohio-area owner pilot of a vintage Beechcraft V-tail Bonanza, has confidently placed the care and maintenance of his aircraft in the hands of a group of high school students. The Mahoning Country Career and Technical Center (MCCTC) in Canfield, Ohio, near Youngstown, has operated vocational programs since 1972. Michael Stanko, owner and operator of Gemco Aviation at Youngstown Elser Metro Airport (4G4), where Williams’s Bonanza has been serviced over the past several months, is also president of the MCCTC school board. He said, “Our students will be able to perform various inspections on this aircraft, as required by the FAA, and will be able to simulate a multitude of operational functions of the aircraft.” Stanko added, “MCCTC holds a special place in my heart as I was fortunate enough to be in the first graduating class of the aviation program in 1974.”

Students enrolled in the FAA-certified A&P program at MCCTC can receive their A&P certificate in two years for a cost of around $600, contrasting with around $3,000 elsewhere, according to Scott Rowe, aviation instructor at the school. The high school also has cooperative programs with Parks College in St. Louis, Kent State University in Ohio and Eastern New Mexico University in Roswell. Graduates of the MCCTC program receive credits toward college degrees in aviation for their high school training. MCCTC also offers adult programs in aviation maintenance.