Ogle’s aeronautical engineering school celebrates 25 years

The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School is this year celebrating its silver anniversary.

After twenty-five (25) years in existence, the school which is a NonGovernmental (NGO) Organisation, remains committed to developing Aircraft Engineering skills and technical expertise essential to the development and safety of air transport within Guyana, CARICOM and the world at large.

The institute provides training services for a number of local customers including Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Aircraft Department, Air Services Limited, WINGS Aviation, Roraima Airways, Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Air Corps and private students. Named after pioneers of aviation in Guyana; Arthur James Williams and Herman Edgar Wendt, the idea of the school was conceived by Captain Malcolm Chan-ASue and Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Charles Hutson and began its operations in 1993. Williams and Wendt, both pilot-mechanics, laid the foundation in the early 1930’s for aviation in Guyana and by so doing, created exposure and development for much of the country’s interior for the first time.

Since its debut, the school has functioned continuously and has become an ISOaccredited tertiary institution.

The Aeronautical Engineering School was designed mainly to enable the aircraft industry, in Guyana, to produce its own highly trained aircraft maintenance engineers through a programme designed specifically for persons interested in building a career in Aircraft Maintenance. It is the first tertiary institution in CARICOM to have a Quality Management System that is ISO Certified.

Thirty-six (36) females have enrolled in the Ab-initio Programme since it started in 1997. Since then almost 500 students have graduated from the institution and of those, 195 went on to acquire their Aircraft Maintenance Engineer licenses. Ab-initio trainees are trained in basic workshop skills and exposed to theoretical and practical training.

The institution has also received several accreditation and achievement certificates from various reputable organisations worldwide.

The Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School is approved and certified by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Trinidad & Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), Civil Aviation Safety Authority Suriname (CASAS) and Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA).

The School is a longstanding member of the Flight Safety Foundation and the International Federation of Airworthiness, United States of America.

(Kaieteur News)