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Chair of the Department of Aircraft Maintenance and Structural
Technology, Martin Kehayes, explains some of the idiosyncracies
of one of the newest additions to the MGA School of Aviation
fleet – which is actually one of the oldest. In late 2017, a donor
made the University the gift of a 1964 Beech H-18. This “Twin
Beech,” as this model is affectionately known, is fully airworthy
and has been upgraded to include a digital “glass cockpit”
instrument panel. It’s one of the few remaining H-18’s in the air
today – most Model 18’s had standard landing gear (two wheels
forward, one wheel at the end of the tail), while the rarer H-18
was fitted with the now-common tricycle landing gear arrange-
ment. While it’s not used for flight training – not many aircraft
flying today still rely on the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior radial
engines that power the Beech – the plane still makes a handsome
and historical addition to the MGA fleet. MARYANN BATES
“IT’S A GREAT TIME TO GET INTO THE INDUSTRY.”
HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE making over 15,000 flights daily, Delta – with
In a hangar at the south end of the Eastman its more than 80,000 employees and its massive
Campus, where the School of Aviation is based, a technical operations facility located at Hartsfield-
turbine engine is mounted to a work stand. Two Jackson Atlanta International Airport – is an
MGA students lean over it fitting combustors – attractive destination for the aviation-minded.
the chambers where jet fuel is burned to power And a new agreement with the Atlanta-based car-
a jetliner through the sky. To the untrained eye, rier is helping MGA students become even more
the engine is a hopeless tangle of tubes and hoses, prepared to take on a role with the aviation giant.
fans, wiring, and other unidentified parts. To Under the agreement, Delta is providing
these students, this is just another day in class. MGA with a supply of decertified aircraft parts
“I’m a hands-on learner” says Cole Cook, – parts being removed from service as the planes
a student in the AMT program. “You’re always they fit are taken off the flight line – so that
doing something different, troubleshooting the students can get hands-on experience working
problems. It’s a challenge.” with the same equipment they’d see on the line at
Cook was exposed to the joys of aircraft one of Delta’s maintenance facilities worldwide.
through a family member. “My uncle was in the In addition, Delta training materials – the same
Marines; now he runs a shop working on materials used to train the airline’s new employees
helicopters.” – are being made available to students.
Maintenance is a large part of the aviation MGA is one of only a handful of schools na-
industry, and with one of the U.S. Air Force’s tionwide operating under this new program from
largest maintenance depots and the world’s Delta, and according to Martin Kehayes, chair of
busiest commercial airport both within just a the Department of Aviation Maintenance and
couple hours’ drive of the Eastman Campus, there Structural Technology, the agreement will mean a
is a lot of opportunity for a well-trained huge leg up for new graduates looking for employ-
maintenance specialist to find a career in making ment. “Whether they want to try for employment
sense of the thousands of parts that go together to with Delta or one of the regional carriers, their
make an aircraft fly. MGA degree will say to their prospective employ-
For many students, including Cook, the ers that they’ve been well-trained, are experienced,
ultimate goal is to work on the red-white-and- and ready to get straight to work.”
blue jets of Atlanta’s hometown airline. “I may The commercial airlines aren’t the only
have to make a stop at a manufacturer or in Georgia institutions in need of skilled aircraft
general aviation (private aircraft), but that’s the mechanics – the federal government has recently
major goal – Delta.” authorized a direct hiring authority (DHA) for
With a fleet of more than 800 aircraft mechanics, machinists, electricians, sheet metal
6 MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
