Visitors to North Star High School in Lincoln, Neb., may be surprised to find a 1967 Cessna 150 aircraft proudly displayed in its own hangar-style shop behind a glass-clad bifold door from Schweiss Doors. It’s not every day one finds an airplane at a high school, especially one that is there for students to learn from and work on. In Lincoln, it’s all part of a partnership with Duncan Aviation to create a pathway for students to find successful careers in aviation.
The jobs are there for the taking. A significant shortage in aviation technicians is a major concern for the industry. Boeing, a major aviation manufacturer, estimates 716,000 new technicians will be needed worldwide before 2043.
To meet the demand, airlines, airports and others in aviation will need to start enticing more people to join the ranks. One such way is to meet the aviation mechanics of the future where they are today – their schools.
Working with Duncan Aviation, the Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program was established at North Star High School. Students enrolled in the program can take a variety of classes around aviation and take advantage of an internship with Duncan Aviation, learning from aviation techs.
Duncan maintains and overhauls corporate aircraft worldwide and is headquartered in Lincoln. The program provides hands-on experience for students and it may assist Duncan in finding employees.
“They need mechanics and employees there,” says Scott Wieskamp, director of operations at Lincoln Public Schools. “And what better place to have a training ground than right here at Lincoln, right where they are at.”
Once the program was started, attention turned to space requirements. Thanks to millions of dollars in donations, including from Duncan Aviation and the Boys and Girls Club of Lincoln/Lancaster County, the school district was able to design and construct a new wing at North Star, including a hangar-style shop that provides the space for hands-on instruction for students, including working on a small plane donated by Duncan.
“We thought, what better way to help support the classroom, the labs and the curriculum than building a hangar,” Wieskamp says. “Duncan Aviation was offering to provide an airplane and parts and pieces, so we knew we needed the space to make the program successful.”
BVH Architecture of Lincoln, Neb., was chosen to design the aviation wing, which also includes classrooms for other technology and aviation classes and space for Boys and Girls Club programming, including its Community Learning Center. The addition to the school was constructed by Scheel-Kayton Construction of Lincoln.
“We wanted to create a setting, an environment for students to think about future careers and aviation,” says Cleveland Reeves, principal with BVH Architecture. “We wanted to think about what it might look like and feel like for them to work in a kind of real-life scenario.”
When it came to the hangar shop, Reeves says they wanted a space that was open and airy and made staff, students and visitors feel like they were in a real hangar. A major piece of that equation was the hangar door, which provides an opening large enough to move a plane in and out of the space, as well as showcasing the educational programming itself.
“We wanted to let the building show off the activities inside,” Reeves says.
Wieskamp says the school district relied on the project design team, including BVH to make the decision on what type of door to install. The door needed to be safe enough for students to be around and operate, as well as stand up to the sometimes challenging weather. The idea to have a glass door was also something talked about from early in the design process and Schweiss Doors flew to the top of the options.
“Schweiss became the door of choice and selection, and that is what we designed around,” Wieskamp says.
A 35-foot by 14-foot, 9-inch bifold door was purchased and installed at North Star High School. The door included safety features including a top override switch, photo-eye sensors and warning lights and horn to make everyone could be safe around the door. It was also engineered to hold a glass curtainwall system, creating a visually impressive door to show off activities happening inside the building.
“With these types of career and technical education centers, you want to put the education on display, whether it is the equipment, or in this case, a plane, for the students and teachers working inside,” Reeves says.
Wieskamp says the door installation went well. The installers did run into a snag when placing the rubber door seal but were able to solve the issue. Since then, the door has been working well. Those who see the door and work alongside it seem to enjoy it, Wieskamp says.
The aviation wing at North Star High School is an example of how the design and functionality of educational spaces has changed over the last few decades. Gone are the days of just building square classrooms where students are funneled to look toward the front as a teacher talked at the chalkboard.
“Now it is much more about trying to replicate real world experiences and settings, to help students think about what the next chapter of their life is, whether it’s a career of college,” Reeves says. “It’s definitely much more about collaboration and getting together.”
That new way of teaching seems to be catching on. The Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program at North Star continues to grow, with more students applying each years.
“It is overwhelming in terms of the number of kids that sign up for those types of classes and that has been a good thing,” Wieskamp says. “We believe our investment was a good one.”
Part of that investment was the Schweiss glass bifold door, a premium product, but one that is doing its job to highlight the important work happening at North Star, to train the next generation of aviation maintenance technicians.
“The school wanted to put education on display and show off what was going on inside there,” Reeves says. “It is creating a little bit of excitement around that program. It is fun to see.”
