E-mail: tnorton@sedgwick.gov
August 31, 2010
Just recently, Commissioner Unruh and I had a chance to tour the National Center
for Aviation Training (NCAT) at Jabara Airport. The occasion was a chance to
interface with John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce at the federal
level. He was in town looking at several sites to which the Commerce Department
had funded grants or other support. It was a whirlwind visit but a good chance
to showcase what is fast becoming a hotbed of activity for aviation research and
training and other seminars and conferences. This opportunity enabled us to make
great contacts with several other Commerce Department regional representatives.
NCAT was fully operational earlier this week and is starting to fill up with
students. Approximately 500 students are now receiving training at NCAT. This
number will grow exponentially in the next few years as the aviation industry
rebounds and skilled workers are in even greater demand. Manufacturing programs
that were incubated and functional at other satellite locations were quickly
moved to the new center during the summer break. The Airframe and Powerplant
programs previously located in two separate facilities are now joined in one
location.
NCAT is comprised of three buildings:
Gateway houses student services, career development, the assessment
center and Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) administrative offices.
Manufacturing Tech Center, where research and training come together,
hosts WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and WATC.
Aircraft Service Center houses the Manufacturing Center and the Airframe
and Powerplant Center are joined by a student commons, a catering kitchen and a
200-seat auditorium. There are a total of 222,000 square feet in the facility.
Labs in the Manufacturing Center include: composites, advanced manufacturing,
CATIA/CAD, welding, sheet metal, applied research, industrial electronics, CNC
machining and advanced coatings. In the Airframe and Powerplant building you
will find labs for the following: nondestructive inspection, avionics, power
plant, propeller, airframe, welding and material testing.
At this time there are two partners at NCAT. WATC is designated as the managing
partner for the campus. WATC will be responsible for developing curriculum and
delivering training to meet aviation manufactures’ needs. The second partner is
WSU’s NIAR led by Dr. John Tomblin who has experience in managing composite,
advanced materials and mechanical testing labs. NIAR will be researching new and
advanced manufacturing techniques that can be quickly integrated with aviation
training at NCAT.
I am convinced that the National Center for Aviation Training will be an
integral part of maintaining and fostering the future of aviation manufacturing,
service and research in our community. We should all understand the importance
of the aerospace industry to Sedgwick County and the region. A trained workforce
will be extremely important. Partnerships with the FAA, NTSB, the Commerce
Department and others will be critical to building a national presence. The
research and testing that NIAR brings to the table sets the center up for being
a one-of-a-kind facility that has huge capabilities to meet the needs of the
aviation industry in Wichita and around the nation.
We cannot afford to discount the impact that the aviation cluster has on our
community. This investment must be seen as instrumental in fostering and
promoting the future of aerospace in Wichita with industry-driven workforce
training, world class testing, leading edge research and a facility that is
second to none in equipment, instrumentation, curriculum and connection to the
leaders in aviation.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for letting me get a word in edgewise. tn