CHINA SPRING, Texas (KXXV) — Two China Spring engineering students talk about the importance of engineering in the aerospace field, and share the plane project they were both a part of for the past two years.
- The Aviation Technician Education Council projects a 20% shortage in maintenance technicians by 2028
- Boeing projects a need for more than 600,000 new pilots and 600,000 maintenance technicians over the next 20 years
- Over the past two years, the China Spring engineering students put together a Van's RV-12iS airplane.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
What if I told you a group of China Spring students had a hand in building a plane?
“What we did is basically over the past two years, we've put together a Van's RV-12iS airplane,” Brady Oakley said, Senior at China Spring High School.
“It's just like a, it's like a small personal one that comes out of kits, so they send you all the parts for it and ours, there's choices for it. We bought the pre-assembled engine option for it, but like you can pretty much build every single part of it from the ground up,” Easton Roby, a Senior at China Spring High School, said.
Both these high school seniors heading to Texas A&M in the fall, are not wanting to go the pilot route.
“I do want to go into the engineering field. So, this is kind of been a gateway into that just kind of what that would look like in a day-to-day work,” Brady said.
And being involved in China Spring’s Career and Technical Education Program helps get these students thinking of the future, and what career path is right for them.
“It helps like hone those STEM skills that are required and like the interest in building things and working with your hands. It's kind of necessary in engineering,” Easton said.
The Aviation Technician Education Council projects a 20% shortage in maintenance technicians by 2028.
Big picture: Boeing projects needing more than 600,000 new pilots and 600,000 maintenance technicians over the next 20 years.
So why such a shortage and why such a high demand for these jobs?
“I think it's kind of a place that maybe not a lot of people understand or, maybe it's too hard, but I wish it wasn't that. As I've been in this program, I've realized that it's a lot of fun and there's a lot of opportunity there,” Brady said.
Getting these future engineers excited for what’s ahead.
“I think it really sets the foundation for future engineering students here at China Spring like sets a path for them and it's an incredible experience and any junior that's able to do it, I hope that they can,” Easton concluded.
