Feds award $2.2 million for local flight training school

VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKBN) — The plan for a new flight training school at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is getting $2.2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Western Reserve Port Authority in Youngstown will receive a $2.2 million Expand Workforce Development grant (EDA) to construct a new flight school and aviation center.

The project will be matched with $2.2 million in local funds and is expected to create or retain 300 jobs and generate $2 million in private investment, the port authority wrote in its grant application.

“As someone who has long championed policies to strengthen workforce training and close the skills gap, I am proud to see this critical funding to expand workforce development here in Ohio,” said Representative David Joyce (OH-14). “Specifically, the investment in the Western Reserve Port Authority in Youngstown will create jobs, grow the aviation workforce, and spur economic development in my district. I look forward to seeing this funding in action.”

A partnership was announced In March between Youngstown State University and the Western Reserve Port Authority on a new pilot training center.

Officials say the agreement will include flight classes at the airport in Vienna, which will eventually help fill a growing need for trained pilots.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a mass exodus of pilots is projected to cause almost 17,000 openings for airline and commercial pilots each year.

“By the time you become a pilot, you could have a six-figure investment in the career. But right now the airlines are paying pretty significant bonuses,” said Western Reserve Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Trevena.

“These are good paying jobs. We train them right here in our workforce. A lot of pilots work in Pittsburgh, work in Cleveland — they live right here in the Mahoning Valley,” Trevena said.

The grant money will go towards a new building at Youngstown Warren Regional Airport that will house a flight school, simulator room as well as additional classrooms and training rooms at a cost of roughly $4.2 million.

This grant will pay for more than half of that and clear new pathways for students at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics.

“They could increase their program 50 more students a year if we were to add more facilities,” said Trevena.

The airport and port authority are also looking to partner with a local university — potentially Youngstown State — to create a full curriculum for an aviation program further connecting students with careers in aviation.

“If you become a Part 141 school, those students could receive Pell Grants, Stafford loans and things like that. That would help them pay for their academic career when it comes to aviation,” Trevena said.

Gerry Ricciutti contributed to this report.

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