There are more students than expected, potential development has been introduced much more quickly than anticipated, and the success of the “Wings Over Wheeling” event in August has raised a tremendous amount of awareness concerning the needs of the country’s aviation industry.
For Kevin Price, that’s a win-win-win.
Price, the development director for the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport since April 2022, has helped initiate an educational partnership between Marshall University and West Liberty University to establish an Aviation Program at Ohio County’s hilltop university. A national shortage in the number of aviation-related workers was reported by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2019, and the agency expects there will be a shortage of nearly 30,000 pilots by 2030.
Members of the Ohio County Commission recognized the need and joined the Regional Economic Development Partnership with hiring Price, and now the program has taken off in the area.
“I am very pleased with the progress we’ve made with the educational partnerships between West Liberty and Marshall, and I’m happy about the conversations I’ve had about some development opportunities for the airport property,” Price reported. “Those talks are taking place faster than what I anticipated.
“As for the development, there could be some manufacturing opportunities that could involve the manufacturing of airplane components or parts, or maybe even small aircraft assembly,” he explained. “With what we have started here, there really is a lot of potential so we have to see what we can make happen.”
At this time, the planes utilized by the West Liberty students have glass cockpits with iPad technology replacing an aircraft’s common instruments, and the exteriors of the fixed wings are green and white.
“The folks at Marshall University have really embraced this partnership because this is all about progress and getting new people involved with the aviation industry. There are needs in the industry and that’s why we see this as an opportunity for the students at both universities,” Price explained. “Marshall also has opened a satellite office in Martinsburg because of the demand, and it’s doing very well so far.
“The partnership between Marshall and West Liberty is addressing the need, and the classes at West Liberty are already at full capacity based on the projections,” he said. “They wanted to have 12 in the class, and they have 13, so that’s terrific news for those looking to get involved with the program in the future. If all goes as well as expected, a few planes could be black and gold in the future.”
Up-Up and Away!
The partnership between Marshall and West Liberty includes the instructors, too, and that means local students now have the chance to investigate and educate in a number of different areas in aviation.
“Right now, the instructors teaching the West Liberty students are from Marshall, but, as the program grows at West Liberty, we’ll see full-time aviation instructors at West Liberty,” Price confirmed. “And that is thanks to the investment that’s been made at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport by the Ohio County Commission.
“That investment in the classroom has been one of the big drivers that makes this partnership work,” he said. “West Liberty needed space at the airport, and the County was willing to make that investment because of the potential. This will benefit Ohio County in the long run, that’s for sure.”
So, while some may wish to fly in the future, extreme shortages exist on the ground, as well, according to Price.
“There are several different pathways someone can travel when getting involved with the aviation program, and one is professional flight and another is fixed wing. Plus, an individual can get into mechanical, and there should be helicopter coming on as well as professional drone development and aviation business management,” Price said. “There are a bunch of things that Marshall University already has in the program’s basket.
“So, no matter what path a student chooses, they’ll be able to go straight into the commercial pipeline once they are graduated,” he said. “We could see our graduates work for the country’s big airlines, we could see them get into jet flight or another area of the industry, and we could see them get a position in one of the many support areas.”
When Price was hired nearly two years ago, he noticed many local residents did not know the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport even existed, and if they did, they had not visited the facility. He feels the “Wings Over Wheeling” event that was staged at the airport in late August raised a tremendous amount of awareness.
“Even the people who didn’t come to the airport for the event certainly heard about it because our people did a great job with promoting it, that’s for sure. There were news articles online, the TV stations reported it on it, and I know everyone on social media heard about it, too,” Price reported. “We believed we would see between 8,000-10,000 people here based on my experience, and that’s what we saw come to the airport that day.
“If the decision is made to continue having such events, I believe there are many things we would do the same, and I believe there are changes we would make. But overall, it was terrific thanks to everyone involved,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for the airport, that’s for sure.”
This is a very good thing.
Dave