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Manoj Patankar (right), head of Purdue Polytechnic's CREATE lab, arrives to meet Flexjet partners at their headquarters in Richmond Heights, OhioPurdue Polytechnic's CREATE lab announced a partnership with Flexjet to develop a new aviation facility on Nov. 16. Through the partnership, Purdue and Flexjet will create AeroSphere, an aviation facility to provide students with quality education in aircraft maintenance and upkeep.
Flexjet, a global subscription-based private aviation company, and Purdue's Center for Research and Education in Advanced Technology Ecosystems entered into an exclusive agreement to develop AeroSphere for Business Aviation. The facility is intended to be a living ecosystem, a space where learning, working and innovation converge. The state-of-the-art hub will combine the skillset of an aviation education facility with one of the biggest private aviation operators in the world.Purdue Polytechnic's Dean, Daniel Castro, inks the recent deal establishing the Aerosphere cooperative between Purdue's CREATE lab and Flexjet. (Photo provided: Flexjet)
"There are three distinguishing features of AeroSphere," Purdue's CREATE Director Manoj Patankar said. "It is built on the new Part 147 requirements, it matches the best of on-the-job training and online learning, and it is competency-based."
"This ‘lab-to-life' experience ensures students can immediately apply what they have learned," CREATE Associate Director Mike Suckow said. "Reciprocally, it also brings life back into labs, to ensure that the academic side stays current and relevant. This constant feedback loop ensures a vibrant, dynamic learning environment."
AeroSphere's key philosophy for business aviation is symbiosis. Purdue's education program will feed into Flexjet's business operations and in turn, Flexjet will provide hands-on experience to inform and guide the program.Purdue Polytechnic's Dean Castro (center) tours the Flexware headquarters. (Photo provided: Flexware) AeroSphere will become an environment where both students and professionals can learn, not just from textbooks and simulators, but from real-world experiences and the challenges faced by aviation companies like Flexjet.
"Our goal in partnering with Purdue University was simple," said Kevin Dillon, a FlexJet senior executive overseeing the company's global maintenance facility and a Purdue graduate. "We wanted to align the best university in the world for aviation and aerospace technology with the best global business jet operator, to create a new approach for professional development that is unlike anything we have seen in our industry."
Between now and 2042, Boeing's 2023 Pilot and Technician Outlook forecasts demand for 649,000 pilots and 690,000 technicians globally. To meet the demand to modernize the technician training program in the U.S., the Aviation Technical Education Council, labor unions, and major maintenance, repair and overhaul companies collaborated to champion a new legislative reform. Part 147 of the Code of Federal Regulations concerning Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools provides important autonomy and inspires competency-based approaches to technician training.
"The new regulation has cleared all the hurdles," Purdue's Part 147 Program Director Mike Davis said. "With AeroSphere, it is now up to us to build the world's best technician program."Purdue Polytechnic and Flexjet's teams gathered at the exterior of Flexjet's Richmond Heights headquarters. (Photo provided: Flexjet)
AeroSphere will be a career accelerator and Purdue will assist FlexJet in redesigning the company's professional development and educational programs for both the apprenticeship program and the advanced continuing education for licensed technicians. In an industry-first, the Flexjet apprentice program takes candidates, vetted for aptitude and company culture, from zero experience to a licensed aviation technician, with Aandamp;P and advanced avionics training, in just over two years. The apprentices earn full-time wages while training and will graduate with a job offer from Flexjet.
"The support from Purdue will further enhance our ongoing efforts to invest in the more than 1,300 people employed in Flexjet's Global Maintenance and Product Support division," said Jay Heublein, Flexjet's senior executive for global maintenance and product support. "This partnership will radically change the world of technician education which will in turn provide our team members with an incredible level of professional fulfillment while also providing Flexjet with an enormous competitive advantage as we look to continue expanding our overall support infrastructure."
"This is the perfect example of the next generation of applied research and program development for a land-grant, research-intensive institution like Purdue," Dean of Purdue Polytechnic Daniel Castro said. "We hope that AeroSphere grows and serves as a model of international collaboration between the various segments of the aviation industry, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-government organizations."