Amidst the noise of local and state politicians calling for the closing of Brainard Airport, for the betterment of their agendas and not for Hartford’s, and while we wait for mayoral candidate Arunan Arulampalam to grow a pair and tell us where he stands on the issue, the rest of the country is embracing the aerospace industry for its career and economic potential.

In June, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont took a group of CBIA executives on a junket to Le Bourget, Paris for the Paris Air Show, underscoring the importance of the tax payer funded trip by stating that Connecticut’s aerospace industry employs 34,000 people and brings in more than $10 billion a year while accounting for “nearly 25% of all aerospace parts.”

In June the governor also signed Public Act 23-167, which in part established a “working group” to study the “feasibility, cost, and plan” for the development of an aerospace manufacturing high school.

Hartford area technical schools Prince Tech and the Academy of Aerospace and Engineering in Windsor (with a 92% graduation rate), both offer Hartford students a pathway into the aerospace industry.

Through the Bristol technical school program, CT Aerotech, located at Brainard Airport, graduates nearly 30 students a year from an FAA certified Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology program.

The federal government has been spending money on the aerospace industry like a drunken pilot at Tootsie’s during a layover at Nashville International Airport.  Brainard Airport was one of the 31 small airports receiving a portion of the $25 billion federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021.  Over $2 billion was approved for this year’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants. Since 2020, Congress has approved $5 million a year on Aviation Workforce Development Grants.  The University of Texas at El Paso’s Aerospace Center ($40 million) was one of 21 schools across the country that received awards of up to $65 million as part of the federal Build Back Better pandemic relief bill.

While the focus of this largesse has been on the manufacturing and maintenance of airplanes, somebody must fly the damn things.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that there will be “about 18,100” job openings for pilots each year over the next decade.  As a result of this outlook, high schools in Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, and Alabama (some in partnerships with universities) have launched aviation focused pathways.  In 2021, the non-profit Remake Learning started a “moonshot grants” fund for school districts in western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia to create or expand on their aviation programs, investing in flight simulators and equipment to provide students with a hands-on education in the industry.  Remake helped another district launch a program focused on increasing the pipeline of women in aviation.  Remake also assisted a group of five school districts to start a “Fly Like a Girl” drone academy.  Waiting for Hartford Public Schools to make a move are three potential partner flight schools operating out of Brainard Airport in Hartford.

There is also the Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation High School Aviation Initiative which will come into your high school and provide a FREE four-year, six-course, two-pathway (pilot and UAS pilot) High School Aviation STEM Curriculum.  FREE!  The AOPA High School Initiative is currently in 400 schools in 43 states preparing 15,000 students (50% students of color, 22% female students) for careers as manned pilots, drone pilots, and other aviation STEM professionals.  FREE!

Why is this not a thing in Hartford Public Schools?  The district blocks Hartford children from learning a second language and obtaining the national Seal of Biliteracy on their diplomas, they have done away with driver’s education classes, and in many instances, fail to adequately feed the children.  And now, due to local-state political leadership connections and the indecisiveness of those who would be king, Hartford students are grounded from participating in a booming industry.

With an airport in their backyard and resources there for the asking, HPS is lagging in providing a crucial element of a 21st century education while they should be a model aviation pathway school.  How wonderful would it be for Gov. Ned to present that fact at the next Paris Air Show?