State Senate Caucus Tours College's Aviation Center

Published 10.22.2015

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School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies News

    State Sens. Gene Yaw (R-Loyalsock Township) and Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) share a laugh in the 727 cockpit with aviation maintenance technology seniors Sean J. Cornwell (center), of Collegeville, and James S. Alger, of Campbelltown. Against fall-colored foothills behind the runway, Brett A. Reasner, dean of transportation and natural resources technologies, joined President Davie Jane Gilmour in welcoming guests.Ryan A. Gibson, an aviation maintenance technology senior from Lansdale, gives Yaw a tutorial on avionics equipment.The group pauses for a photo after departing the 727. Joining college and Senate personnel was Christopher A. Logue (fourth from left), chair of the Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority.A doozy of a Duesenberg – complete with a Lycoming Engine – greeted the group on their way to lunch at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant. Michael Kraft, senior vice president and general manager of Lycoming Engines, chats with Vanessa Mathurin, of Philadelphia, an automotive restoration technology student on hand to offer a historical lesson on the classic 1929 car. The state Senate Aviation Caucus visited the Williamsport Regional Airport on Thursday, part of its focus on four aspects of Pennsylvania's aviation industry: education, awareness, research and technology. The tour, hosted by Sen. Gene Yaw − a caucus member and chair of Penn College Board of Directors − began at midmorning in the college's Lumley Aviation Center. An FAA-approved repair station, the Montoursville campus is home to a large and varied fleet of instructional aircraft that includes a retired Boeing 727-200F cargo plane donated in 2012 by FedEx Express and a Falcon 20 passenger jet that arrived there in spring. The college's aviation majors have their roots in 1930s training of Lycoming Engines employees; a stop at that company's plant in Williamsport's West End, an operating division of Avco Corp., concluded the visit. WBRE's Cody Butler covered the visit for Eyewitness News and compiled a report for broadcast Thursday evening.

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