News about Aviation

Two Pennsylvania College of Technology students were the first to take the National Center for Aerospace & Transportation Technologies/ASTM International examinations at the college’s Lumley Aviation Center, obtaining certifications that reflect recent adjustments to the college’s four-year aviation maintenance technology major to more closely align with industry standards.

Teagan M. Low, a junior from Richmond, Vermont, and Kevin Pradel, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, who graduated May 14, were the first two students to take the NCATT/ASTM examinations under the college’s recent authorization to administer the testing on-site. (Prior to receipt of that permission, students needed to search for an external facility authorized to conduct the testing.)

Both were successful, earning the basic certification (Aircraft Electronics Technician), the Radio Communication systems endorsement and the Dependent Navigation Systems endorsement. Pradel went on to pass an additional test, by which he earned the Autonomous Navigation Systems endorsement.

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Thomas D. Inman, associate professor of aviation, and William A. Schlosser, an incoming instructor of emergency management & homeland security, traveled to the Harrisburg area last weekend for the Civil Air Patrol’s Pennsylvania Wing Conference. Inman (assisted by his spouse, Valerie) helped CAP members build Piper Cub models using aircraft aluminum and fasteners. Those visiting the table enjoyed a hands-on experience while learning about the Penn College aviation program. Schlosser, who will join the full-time faculty in the fall semester, provided conference attendees with a valuable look at his program, among the college’s wide-open pathways to career success and satisfaction.

Two aviation maintenance technology students and a faculty member attended last month’s 65th annual Aircraft Electronics Association Convention and Trade Show in New Orleans – the largest gathering of general aviation avionics manufacturers, distributors and government-certified repair stations in the world. Wesley Alexander Lippincott, of Bedford, and Teagan M. Lowe, of Richmond, Vermont, joined Thomas D. Inman, associate professor of aviation, for the four-day event at the city’s Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

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A Pennsylvania College of Technology student was among only seven selected worldwide to receive a Bill Sanderson Aviation Maintenance Technology Scholarship from Helicopter Association International’s Technical Committee.

Kevin Pradel, a senior in the four-year aviation maintenance technology major, was awarded a second-place scholarship that provides a tuition waiver for a helicopter manufacturer training school and a stipend to offset expenses. Pradel, of Belleville, New Jersey, will attend the Leonardo AW139 helicopter factory school in Philadelphia.

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Eighteen aviation students at Pennsylvania College of Technology have earned wiring-inspection certificates from the Aircraft Electronics Association as part of the international organization’s training series.

All students at the college’s Lumley Aviation Center in Montoursville earn the wiring-inspection certificate; bachelor’s degree students earn four additional credentials in a variety of subjects relevant to aviation and human-error management.

“Some employers pay an additional 50 cents per hour for each training certificate held by their employees,” noted Thomas D. Inman, associate professor and co-department head. “As a result, Penn College students could start their careers making as much as $5,000 more per year than similar graduates from other schools.”

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Two Penn College students qualified for this summer’s SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference during a faculty-judged competition at the Lumley Aviation Center in Montoursville. Curtiss R. Gay, pursuing a certificate in aviation maintenance technician, placed first, and Sam Cole, enrolled in the two-year aviation technology major, finished second. There is no aviation category at the state level in Pennsylvania, so Gay, of Tunkhannock, and Cole, of Peckville, advance to SkillsUSA nationals on the basis of their local performance. They will be joined in Atlanta from June 20-24 by other winners of the state competition, scheduled to be held April 6-8 at Hershey. SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen the nation’s skilled workforce; Penn College students in a variety of academic areas have historically done well in state and national contests.
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A first-year student at Pennsylvania College of Technology has been awarded a Viasat Technology/Maintenance Scholarship from Women in Corporate Aviation.

The $1,000 award to Alicia Martinez, an aviation maintenance technology major from Allentown, was presented at the National Business Aviation Association’s recent Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas. Viasat provides the scholarship to assist a student attending a Federal Aviation Administration Part 147 school to attain Airframe and Powerplant or avionics-related certification.

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An engineering manager at TE Connectivity facilitated the donation of electronic components to a number of instructional areas at Pennsylvania College of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in plastics and polymer engineering technology in May 2004.

William J. “Will” Moyer II, based at the company’s Middletown location, worked with Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations, to put a variety of products into the hands of tomorrow’s industry professionals. Campus beneficiaries include students in electronics, mechatronics, electrical, aviation, automotive, diesel, manufacturing/machining, and at the Dr. Welch Workshop: a Makerspace at Penn College.

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A recent graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s aviation program has been awarded a Helicopter Association International scholarship that provides a tuition waiver for a manufacturer training school and a stipend to offset expenses.

John J. Doherty, of Lebanon, who earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation maintenance technology in May, received a first-place Bill Sanderson Aviation Maintenance Technology award from HAI. The scholarship includes passes to next year’s HAI Heli-Expo, to be held March 7-10 in Dallas.

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As if the industrious fulfillment of her proud Pennsylvania College of Technology days isn’t a sufficient bequest, Kate M. Ruggiero punctuated her academic performance with a larger-than-life mic drop: impressively taking the lead in repainting a single-engine Cessna 175C airplane donated to the Lumley Aviation Center eight years ago.

Ruggiero earned an associate degree in aviation technology from Penn College in December, crossing the stage in a COVID-delayed ceremony on May 15, and will move from Easton to Michigan in early July to start a job as an aircraft paint specialist – working on corporate and private jets for Duncan Aviation in Battle Creek.

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More than a half-dozen Pre-College Programs attracted a knowledge-hungry host of teenagers to Penn College’s campuses in recent days, the season opener for high schoolers’ exposure to next-level academics. Campers were engaged and enlightened among the week’s bountiful offerings: Architecture Odyssey, Automotive, Aviation, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Health Careers and Information Technology. A second week – inviting more students to test the waters of collegiate opportunity through hands-on learning – will begin July 18.

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Excerpts from a student’s portfolio accompany a faculty-written article in the May issue of Avionics News, published internationally by the Aircraft Electronics Association. The work of Corey S. O’Loughlin – an aviation maintenance technology major from Bethlehem – helpfully illustrates a Theory & Practice column by Thomas D. Inman, associate professor at Penn College’s Lumley Aviation Center and a regular contributor to the magazine for more than a decade. “Keeping a log today is much easier than in the 1980s when I started working on aircraft. Now, thanks to tablets with cameras, spreadsheets and electronic storage, a technician has a real opportunity to create an aid that I could only dream,” writes Inman in his “Keep a Notebook” piece. “I would find an old three-ring binder and fill it with blank pages. I would add notes and sketches on the pages in my rather poor handwriting. Today, you can snap a photo, and I encourage my students to do this. In addition, you can type something legible. Drawing tools are free, and you can make sketches using them.”

Robert L. Norton – an alumnus, retired faculty member and father of a program director in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences – died Friday, March 19, 2021, at the age of 90. He received a certificate from the former Williamsport Technical Institute and an associate degree from Williamsport Area Community College, and was an aviation instructor at WACC and Penn College for 24 years.

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Robert M. Werkmeister Sr., who retired as an assistant professor of aviation at Penn College, died Dec. 3 at the age of 83. Werkmeister’s 1959 graduation from the aviation program at Williamsport Technical Institute (the institution’s earliest predecessor) began decades of service to the industry, including work as a mechanic, inspector and a corporate pilot.

He taught at the Lumley Aviation Center for more than 20 years, retiring during the 2013-14 academic year.

A full obituary, including details about Friday’s visitation and funeral, was published in Saturday’s editions of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

Thomas D. Inman, associate professor of avionics and co-department head of aviation, earned three amateur radio awards this fall for making confirmed contacts throughout the United States and around the world.

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