The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Aviation academy ready to settle in near airport
Chattahoochee Tech’s innovative program has a great new home.
One of the primary missions of the state’s technical colleges is to prepare students to enter the workforce. Chattahoochee Tech is stepping up to fulfill that mission in an area that has captured considerable attention lately: It’s launched the Aviation Training Academy with new programs and a state-of-the-art facility designed to prepare the people who keep planes running smoothly.
On April 26, Chattahoochee officials will cut the ribbon on its new space, explicitly designed to train technicians on a plane’s electrical systems, superstructure and interior. Located adjacent to the Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport in Dallas, the academy will support certificate programs in areas that launched in January and so far have attracted about 40 students. An additional maintenance technician program is pending approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We need employees in these industries, and we’ve been very proactive in recruiting,” said Jason Tanner, Chattahoochee’s executive vice president for instruction. “Georgia is trying to
grow the industry, and having facilities like this will help.”
The three-story, 55,000-square-foot space will house two deconstructed aircraft, and Tanner is looking to add a third. And it will be exclusively used for the aviation academy
here won’t be a stray English class or shared lab space,” he said. “We did it that way so no one has to skip a term because of space issues.”
The new courses are over
seen by aviation program director Alan Biercewicz, who joined Chattahoochee in 2022 after a lengthy career as a mechanic at Lockheed and Delta. He provided input on the building’s design and construction as well as the course materials that will be used by seven instructors. One of the areas he’s focused on is the human element.
“At Delta, we trained on human factors continuously,” Biercewicz said. “We’ll also go into that deeply. When things
happen, it’s often a sequence that people overlooked, let something go or did improperly. When all the holes in the Swiss cheese line up, you have a pathway for an accident to happen. And as I like to say, you can’t just pull over on the side of the sky.”
Biercewicz said the program is a game-changer for students who will not be required to invest in expensive tools for the classes. A collaboration with Snap-on Incorporated provides required materials.
“In many programs, when students come in, they’re required to buy tools that can cost as much as $6,000,” Biercewicz said. “We will have the workbenches and the tools for them. We even have automatic boxes that keep track of who is using which tools and makes sure they’re returned.”
Tanner said he hopes the new academy will attract students who might not have considered the aviation field.
“Until you’re on a plane, you’re disconnected from the industry, and we all assume this stuff happens by magic,” he said. “We’re assuming students will be very uninitiated. But having facilities like this will help with that.”