Helicopter Association Rewards Penn College Aviation Students

Published 03.02.2010

News
Aviation
Student News

Scholarship recipients Christopher M. Gayman (left) and Justin A. Eshleman, seniors in Pennsylvania College of Technology%E2%80%99s aviation maintenance technology major, stand before a helicopter in the Lumley Aviation Center hangar at the Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville. (Photo by Thomas D. Inman, association professor of aviation)Two Pennsylvania College of Technology seniors were among only eight students worldwide recently awarded scholarships from Helicopter Association International's Technical Committee.

Justin A. Eshleman, of Pequea, and Christopher M. Gayman, of Columbia, seniors in Penn College's aviation maintenance technology bachelor-degree major, received Bill Sanderson Aviation Maintenance Technician Scholarships that provide a tuition waiver for manufacturer training schools. Sanderson was the association's director of heliports and technical programs when he succumbed to cancer in April 2004.

The winners attend February's 2010 Heli-Expo in Houston. (Photo by William F. Stepp III, associate professor of aviation)Eshleman will attend the Agusta A109 helicopter school (worth $8,500) and Gayman will attend the Rolls-Royce 250 series engine school (worth $3,000); they also received a one-year HAI membership and registration waiver for the 2010 Heli-Expo held Feb. 20-23 in Houston. Accompanied by William F. Stepp III, associate professor of aviation, the students attended the Heli-Expo the world's largest trade show dedicated to the helicopter industry and participated in the Technical Committee meeting, manufacturer technical briefings and a job fair.

Gayman and Eshleman join four other Penn College students honored by HAI in the past six years: Gregory B. Gilliland, of Franklin, was a 2008 winner; Wesley C. Miller, of Reading, won in 2007; Jason M. Smith, of Hillsgrove, was a 2006 recipient; and Kirk T. Beres, of Osceola Mills; was awarded a scholarship in 2004.

For more information about the college's School of Transportation Technology, visit online or call 570-327-4516. For more about Penn College, visit on the Web , e-mail or call toll-free 800-367-9222.