Avionics News August 2015 - 42

Students in the
Liberty University's
Aviation Maintenance
Technician School
change out an engine
on a Cessna 150.

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Continued from page 41

of course, we handle avionics installation work every day.
"We travel around the state to smaller airports,
helping people with their altimeter/transponder biennial
inspections. We replace entire panels in aircraft as
small as Piper Cubs, and we also have performed
retrofits in turbine aircraft that involve substantial avionics
reconfiguration."
Moorefield's experience as a private pilot and A&P mechanic
with inspection authorization gives him a unique perspective.
"As a pilot and A&P, I have the ability to talk to
customers about their entire aircraft as one system, and
understand the issues from several points of view," he said.
Liberty University plans to capitalize on this type of
expertise and experience to grow Freedom Aviation into a
profitable regional service center.
"Our goal is to draw interest to Lynchburg Regional
Airport," Young said. "Merging the two operations,
Freedom Aviation and Virginia Aviation, and taking the
strengths of each one puts us in a much better competitive
position than having multiple, separate, fixed-base operators
on the field. We want to be competing regionally, competing
up and down the East Coast. This merger will increase our
business and enhance economic development for the city of
Lynchburg and for Central Virginia."
Preparing for the future
Beyond the opportunity for real-world experience,
aviation maintenance students studying at Liberty University
have another big advantage - accelerated training.
"Most aviation maintenance programs take two or even
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AVIONICS NEWS

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AUGUST

2015

three years to complete," Mashburn said. "Our aviation
maintenance technician school is concentrated into 12
months. Students complete their airframe and powerplant
certifications by the end of the course."
Throughout the years, Liberty University has continued
to expand the aviation maintenance program, offering new
areas of study, new courses and new ways of taking classes.
It's still doing so.
"We recently hosted the 2015 FAA Inspection
Authorization Seminar for 250 people at our Lynchburg
location," Mashburn said. "We have had an online
maintenance management bachelor's degree in which a
student with an A&P could complete a management degree
in maintenance, and now we have added a residential
maintenance management bachelor's degree.
"We also are working on an aviation avionics course and
an aircraft restoration course. We are developing an aviation
management bachelor's degree for those who want to be in
aviation but not in a flying position."
Liberty University not only trains students, the school
helps translate their education and experience into jobs.
"We are constantly helping our students find internship
opportunities such as Cessna, Delta Airlines, NTSB and
others," Mashburn said. "We have hiring agreements with
four different regional airlines. We partner with several
aviation missions organizations to help get our students to
remote locations."
Young agreed, adding, "With the FBOs, we're able to
expose our students to a lab-type environment. It allows for
internships as well as job opportunities when they graduate
- from A&P mechanic to corporate pilot to working in the
FBO to an administrative position. It's a real value to us and
our students." q
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News August 2015
