CHIPPEWA TWP., PA – Several years in the making, Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) and the Beaver County Airport (BVI) Authority task force announced plans to renovate and create a joint 21st Century aviation facility at the Beaver County Airport.
The concept went before the Chippewa Township Planning Commission at their May 14 meeting. HDG Architects will lead the project design and John Pappas from Eckles Construction will serve as construction manager.
“The CCBC/BVI task force came to this shared agreement in the best interest of the county, aviation industry, students, and flight providers,” stated Beaver County Airport Authority Board Chairman Roy Early. “It was our goal to work together to imagine and build a modern, innovative aviation facility that meets the needs of pilots, air traffic controllers, aerospace managers, and aviation enthusiasts alike.”
At its April public meeting, CCBC’s Board of Trustees accepted the terms for a new Community College of Beaver County and Beaver County Airport Authority land lease. In addition, with the leadership and support of the Board of Commissioners, the County pledged a commitment of $1.4 million towards the project.
“We are very thankful to both Community College of Beaver County’s Board of Trustees and the Beaver County Airport Authority members for having the foresight to move this project one step closer to the finish line,” said Beaver County Board of Commissioners Chairman Daniel Camp. “This project will continue the rich history of our community college’s aviation programming putting young men and women in towers and cockpits across the globe, and by doing so, also place Beaver County’s aviation stamp worldwide.”
CCBC and BVI will now prepare to break ground at the airport for a two story, angled-elbow aviation building that includes:
- Shared terminal space
- New educational spaces
- New sidewalks and parking areas
- New HVAC system
- Manager’s office
- Training space with single stations
- Classrooms and conference-style furnishings,
- And equipment levels.
“From downtown Freedom with classes in old, abandoned buildings, by way of converted hangers at Beaver County Airport, to the current Aviation Sciences Center in Chippewa, and now looking at futuristic new facilities to meet the needs of a demanding industry, today’s announcement is a celebration of the growth and advancements in aviation and aviation training at CCBC,” stated Senior Dean of the James M. Johnson School of Aviation Sciences John Higgs.
The United States continues to experience a significant piloting shortage, with Boeing alone predicting strong long-term demand for newly qualified aviation personnel, including a need for nearly 650,000 pilots in the next two decades, according to its most recent Pilot Technician Outlook, and based on an article from USNews.com, “The FAA has about 10,700 certified controllers, up slightly from 10,578 in 2022, but down 10% since 2012 and about 3,000 below target.”
One of the nation’s top aviation training programs, CCBC has a piloting graduate in the cockpit of every major airline, a controller in every tower in the nation, and a strong reputation as the standard for which the industry comes to for best trained aviation professionals.
