Redstone helps students fly into aviation jobs

BROOMFIELD – In a sinking economy, graduates of Redstone College’s aviation maintenance programs are flying high, often receiving job offers before they graduate.

“Most of them are just waiting to complete the course,´ said Vaughn Dowell, the college’s airframe and powerplant program director.

Redstone College, a division of Denver-based Alta Colleges Inc., is located in Broomfield. Redstone originally opened in 1965 as Colorado Aero Tech.

It offers programs designed to teach and certify students in aircraft maintenance and aviation technology, plus heating and air conditioning and construction management.

“Upon completion of the airframe and power plant course, our mechanics are qualified to complete major repairs, major inspections on most of the airplanes in the U.S.,” Dowell said. The training enables students to find a variety of aviation jobs with companies such as Lockheed Martin or Air Methods.

Redstone’s airframe and powerplant program, certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, trains students to do the repairs and tests necessary to keep an aircraft flying safely.

The college’s advanced electronic technology, or avionics, program teaches students how to deal with the electronic systems in an airplane, such as communications and navigation systems, autopilot and collision avoidance systems.

Redstone avionics student Keith Charles likes Redstone’s programs. He graduated from its Houston campus in May of 2007 after completing the airframe and powerplant program. He then moved to Denver to take the advanced electronic technology program.

“I currently have 15-plus (job) offers,´ said Charles, who was interested in aviation since he was a child.

All of Redstone’s technical instructors have real-world experience in aviation mechanics. Something Charles said helped his learning.

Mike Couling, Redstone’s Broomfield campus president, agreed.

“Our instructors are certified mechanics themselves so they’re giving our students real-world industry experience,” Couling said.

Students learn in both classroom and hands-on settings. Couling said Redstone students are poised to take advantage of a big job market when they graduate.

“There are some 3,000 jobs currently available,” Couling said, and the college has a 95 percent placement rate within 90 days of graduation.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, aviation mechanic jobs are expected to increase at about 10 percent, but good job prospects may be spurred by an expected increased in the retirement rate. Additionally, fewer students are entering aviation mechanics training programs so the applicant pool could be smaller. The average hourly wage is $22 an hour, with some mechanics making as much as double that.

Tuition for Redstone programs runs to $34,000, including books, insurance, uniforms and a tool kit students take after graduation. Graduates interested in returning post-graduation to brush up on an ever-changing industry are welcome.

“If a graduate wants to come back for a refresher course, that is free,” Couling said.

FAA inspectors are regular campus visitors.

“The FAA is on our campus routinely, almost weekly,” Couling said. The FAA visits with instructors and ensures the proper training of mechanics.

Graduates that have worked as full-time aviation mechanics for three years can return to Redstone for a week-long inspection authorization class. The class prepares students for the FAA inspection authorization test. Mechanics who pass can advance to positions such as lead mechanic and foreman and reach earn more responsibility when it comes to signing off on repairs.

“Inspection authorization is a high-level position. … The inspection authorization person is designated by the FAA to say yes it is airworthy or no it is not airworthy,” Dowell said.

This serves as a safety net designed to protect the many people that fly every day. Dave Jasperson, a Redstone instructor, stresses safety in his classes.

“I promote safety big time. The number one issue in aviation should be, and is, safety. I really drive that component,” Jasperson said. He said professionalism is another key component of his classrooms.

Jasperson spent nine years working on AV-8B Harrier jet planes as a Marine.

“I worked the electrical systems and the communication systems, which broke a lot, so I got really good at what I do,” Jasperson said. He also tries to transfer his military knowledge to his students.

He’s been an instructor at Redstone since August 2006 and calls it an “opportunity of a lifetime.” He finds the students a diverse and interesting group.

“We have students that are right out of high school. I’ve had students that were pilots and in their 60s and just came because they wanted to know how airplanes flew,” Jasperson said.

Redstone has served more than 15,000 students since its inception and has graduated 199 this year. Currently 451 are enrolled, and teachers care about their students, Dowell said.

“I was in the classroom teaching for 10 years before I became the program director. We become protective of our students and every time we change (students) it’s kind of like losing your kids.”

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