01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, October 14, 2007
By Andy Smith
Journal Staff Writer

For Noah Vince Cruz of Cranston, flight is the future. "I’ve been wanting to fly as long as I can remember," says Cruz, 17, who is studying computer technology at the Community College of Rhode Island and working toward his pilot’s license at Horizon Aviation. "I’ve been to an air show every year since I was five. It’s the same stuff, but it never

gets old."

Earlier this month, Cruz was standing on the tarmac outside the Horizon Aviation Building at T.F. Green in Warwick, where the Rhode Island Airport Corporation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), plus a number of companies and educational institutions, held the third annual Aviation Education Exposition. Rebecca Pazienza, spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, said about 1,000 students attended the Expo.

As part of the Expo, the runway was filled with machinery — a big jet from FedEx, an Army Blackhawk helicopter, and the ungainly but deadly A-10 Thunderbolt II, better known as the Warthog, a heavily armored plane designed for ground support.

There were earthbound machines, too, such as the snow broom, a heavy-duty truck with a giant cylindrical broom in the front, used to keep runways clear of snow.

In the hangars were booths from schools such as the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which has campuses in Florida and Arizona; the Stratford School for Aviation Maintenance Technicians in Stratford, Conn., and Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H. Others on hand ranged from the National Weather Service to Pratt & Whitney, which makes jet engines.

In one of the hangars, representatives of the FAA were giving students a crack at computer flight simulators. "When it gets to 70 knots, pull back on the yoke — gently!" FAA safety inspector Bill Fullam advised 14-year-old Hugo Sosa, who attends the Met School in Providence.

Out on the runway, Spec. Michael P. Gemma and Maj. James Rae of the Rhode Island Army National Guard stood before a C-23 Sherpa, designed to transport cargo or passengers.

"It’s a pretty ugly airplane," Gemma said. "A lot of kids go over to the A-10. Anything with a gun on it attracts them."

"For some [students] maybe we’re sparking something; for others it’s just a glorified day off from school." Rae said. "But maybe before this kids weren’t thinking about it [the Guard] and maybe now they are." The sleek Blackhawk helicopter, not far from the Sherpa, drew a crowd all day.

"It attracts a few people," said Chief Warrant Officer Steve Moran with considerable understatement. "We get kids from all walks [of life]. They see it, they want to get in it ... it’s a great recruiting tool."

Mark Brewer, president and chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, said the purpose of the aviation expo is to encourage students to stay in school and consider careers in aviation. "Most people just think of pilots when they think of aviation. This gives them an idea of all the jobs that are available," he said.

Brewer said the Airport Corporation, a subsidiary of the state Economic Development Corporation, has 197 full-time employees, but there are more than 3,000 people working at T.F. Green. "Think of an airport as a small city," he said. "It has its own police force, its own fire department, a financial department, retail stores, restaurants, maintenance.... "

James Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association, said the aviation industry is experiencing a period of worldwide growth, and that means more jobs are available. He divided the aviation world into four main sectors: airlines, general (or private) aviation, ground jobs at airports, and manufacturing jobs.

Coyne mentioned the increasing need for security personnel at airports since 9/11. Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the federal agency is hiring nationwide, but has no immediate plans to increase the 200 employees it has at T.F. Green in Warwick.

Coyne said aviation growth in general is being fueled both by the increase in air traffic in countries such as China and India, and the expansion of private aviation in the United States.

According to Chinese officials, that country is expected to triple the size of its passenger air fleet in the next 20 years.

In the United States, Coyne said, there are four times as many private jets as there were 10 years ago, and that segment of the aviation industry is providing an attractive alternative for pilots who have been discouraged by the turbulence and cost-cutting of the big airlines. Last month, The Kiplinger Letter reported that baby-boomer pilots at the airlines are facing the mandatory retirement age of 60, and there are fewer young people

interested in taking their seats, particularly as airline salaries and benefits have eroded.

Although pilot is the aviation job that gets the most publicity, Coyne said less than 15 percent of jobs in the field belong to pilots. Coyne said the aviation world is in particular need of air traffic controllers and aircraft maintenance technicians. Coyne said the generation of Vietnam-era technicians, many trained by the military, is beginning to retire, and there are not enough new techs to replace them. "AP technicians [the initials stand for airframe and power plant], these people are like gold," Coyne said.

According to the Web site Avjobs ( www.avjobs.com), which monitors salaries in the field, average annual salary for an AP mechanic is $46,981. "You can make a great, great living without wearing a coat and tie," Coyne said.

As for air traffic controllers, Jim Peters, spokesman for the FAA in New England, said the federal government will need to hire thousands of air traffic controllers over the next 10 years. In March, the FAA released a 10-year plan that called for the agency to hire and train more than 15,000 new air traffic controllers by 2016.

The mandatory retirement age for an air traffic controller is 56, and the FAA report said that 72 percent of its current work force is due to retire in the next 10 years. (According to the report, as of Sept. 30, 2006, there were 34 air traffic controllers working at T.F. Green.)

Alan Smiley, 15, who attends ForwardVIEW Academy in North Kingstown, wants to be one of those new air traffic controllers. Smiley, who has been to all three education expos at T.F. Green and has attended a summer program at Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire, said he’s attracted to the responsibility and control that come with the job.

He said he’s not worried about the high stress levels that can go along with being an air traffic controller. "You need to know the ramifications before you go into the job," he said. "It’s not stressful unless you don’t know what you’re doing."