State to build aircraft maintenance training school at Paulding airport

The state will invest $35 million to create and build a new technical college department at Paulding County’s airport to train aircraft maintenance workers.

Gov. Nathan Deal announced the Technical College System of Georgia will build a new Aviation Academy at Silver Comet Field airport near Dallas.

The academy will be part of Chattahoochee Technical College, which will oversee operations and build a new facility to house it on a four-acre site southeast of the airport’s terminal building, Deal said.

He said students will come from throughout the region to train in aviation mechanics and maintenance at the new academy.

“This is a welcoming community,” Deal said. “Get ready to open your arms a little wider.”

Students will be able to use the state’s HOPE Career Grant to attend the academy virtually for free because it includes training for a high-demand career field for which the grant will pay full tuition, Deal said.

He said aviation industry leaders such as Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Savannahbased Gulfstream and Pratt & Whitney need workers to fill positions left vacant by those from the Baby Boomer generation who are now at retirement age.

Deal traveled by helicopter to the west Paulding airport to make the announcement. He was joined by Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Matt Arthur, Chattahoochee Tech President Ron Newcomb, and members of the Paulding County legislative delegation, Paulding County Commission, and county Airport and Industrial Building authorities for the announcement.

He made a similar trip earlier in the year by air when he came to Cornelius Moore Field to announce a state investment in rural airports, including the one in Polk County.