<\/p>\n
Times Union<\/em> education reporter Kathleen Moore spoke with Torre Tamez, an incoming student for the college’s new aviation mechanic program, and wrote an article in today’s paper. The article is pasted here below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n COLONIE – There\u2019s nothing cooler than repairing helicopters, said Torre Tamez.<\/p>\n What’s also cool: She\u2019ll be able to get her aviation mechanic certification near home, at the Albany International Airport. The institute is in the final stages of receiving Federal Aviation Administration certification as an Aviation Maintenance Technician School. Two years ago, she enlisted in the Army National Guard as a Black Hawk helicopter mechanic. But that\u2019s a part-time job. So she enrolled at HVCC to get the certification she\u2019ll need for a civilian job repairing helicopters.<\/p>\n \u201cI just thought it would be awesome doing it full-time because I loved doing it part-time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At first, she thought she would have to relocate to take the 12-month course, which is offered at very few schools in New York. Then\u00a0HVCC announced open houses for its new program.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very excited to have something closer to home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Repairing aircraft isn\u2019t for everyone. It\u2019s a high-stress job, but she has loved it in the National Guard.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you aren\u2019t really sure about what the task is, you always have to ask, especially with this career and having lives at risk,\u201d she said. \u201cYou definitely want to make sure you know what you\u2019re doing and you\u2019re doing it right.\u201d<\/p>\n Mechanics use the manual every time, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis career you can\u2019t have a big ego in,\u201d she said. \u201cLet\u2019s say you\u2019re changing your main landing gear tire. If you say. \u2018I\u2019ve done this a million times. I don\u2019t need to look at the manual,\u2019 that\u2019s when you start missing things.\u201d<\/p>\n Aviation mechanics and service technicians earn a median salary of $70,000 in the Capital Region, according to\u00a0HVCC.<\/p>\n A survey of regional airlines that fly out of Albany International Airport indicated that each airline expects to need an average of 10 more aviation mechanics per year over the next five years, according to\u00a0HVCC.<\/p>\n The program has been a long time coming. In 2021, airport CEO Phil Calderone heard that Champlain Valley Education Services in Plattsburgh discontinued its Aviation Maintenance Technician School. Calderone reached out to HVCC, which acquired the training equipment from Plattsburgh for $1.5 million, financed through a federal Perkins Grant, a $500,000 loan from\u00a0HVCC’s Faculty Student Association, and a $500,000 gift from the Hudson Valley Community College Foundation.<\/p>\n While the college was able to begin classes on related topics, it took years to get FAA approval for a new Aviation Maintenance Technician School.<\/p>\n June 20, 2024<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Published:<\/strong>\u00a0Thu, 20 Jun 2024 12:38:59 +0000 by\u00a0e.bryant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Times Union education reporter Kathleen Moore spoke with Torre Tamez, an incoming student for the college’s new aviation mechanic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wpdev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Aviation repair school really gets off the ground at Albany airport<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nHudson Valley Community College is starting the 12-month certification program this fall, in a hangar at the airport that has been dubbed\u00a0HVCC West. Its official name is the Aeronautical Technology Institute.<\/p>\n
\nIt was perfect timing for\u00a0Tamez, 19, of Austerlitz.<\/p>\n