Traverse City's
Northwestern Michigan College is making moves to strengthen their aviation program, including offering helicopter pilot training and securing a partnership with a Grand Rapids aviation school.
The helicopter training will start with about five students this semester, in an agreement with TC Helicopters, a local business that offers helicopter services. The training will come after fixed-wing aircraft training, but will allow aviation students to add another flight rating to their resume.
TC Helicopters owner Mike Terfehr says that trained helicopter pilots are in fairly high demand in the industry, and he hopes to employ some of the NMC graduates himself.
A new agreement between NMC and
West Michigan Aviation Academy in Grand Rapids also will extend more opportunity in the aviation industry to west Michigan high school students.
The partnership will allow Academy students to start out with eight credits when they enroll at NMC, the equivalent of having completed ground school and aviation maintenance courses. The agreement should save time and money for students, and encourage more students to pursue aviation education and careers. The WMAA is new to the aviation industry in Michigan, founded in 2010 and graduating its first class this spring.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Northwestern Michigan College
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