New business and educational partnerships to train pilots at both a high school and university level will be announced today.
Troy University, the City of Troy and Mauna Loa Helicopters will announce the creation of a new program aimed at training commercial pilots at 2 p.m. at the Troy Municipal Airport.
The partnership between Troy University and Mauna Loa will create the university’s first flight training program and provide a minor in Aviation Operations In addition, Troy University and Pike County Board of Education will create a dual-degree program that will be the first of its kind in the nation.
Mauna Loa Helicopter is based in Hawaii, where the company has operated a training program for more than 20 years. The
Aviation industry estimates a need for as many as 90,000 new pilots, both fixed-wing and rotary, over the next 10 years in North America. Internationally, that number is expected to exceed 200,000 over the next 20 years. In China alone, some 77,000 commercial pilots will be needed by 2032.