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AIM’s Capstone Course:
Just What the Doctor Ordered
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), the nation’s premier family of aviation maintenance schools, announced that it will offer its entire student population access to its multi-award-winning, adaptive Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) courses powered by Adaptive 3.0 learning platform, Fulcrum Labs. “For several years, Fulcrum’s AI-powered adaptive technology has been an essential part of the program at AIM as students have finished the A&P curriculum and have prepared for the certification exams,” said Dr. Joel English, Executive Vice President. “But within the context of the pandemic, the online course has allowed us to spread exam preparation throughout the program for students and allowed them to continue in their program uninterrupted through distance education. What was originally envisioned as a supplement for exam preparation has been adapted to provide full online education for our students.” Since 2017, AIM and Fulcrum Labs have collaborated to prepare learners nationwide to pass critical FAA certification exams. By leveraging Fulcrum’s innovative Adaptive 3.0 learning platform within its Capstone course, AIM increased program graduates by 40 percent, boosted FAA certification exam participation rates by 25 percent, and achieved a transformative improvement of more than 46 percent in FAA certification exams. “We know how challenging it can be for companies to transition from a blended learning approach to a fully-remote one while maintaining the same level of quality instruction that their students depend upon and are accustomed to,” said Patrick Weir, CEO of Fulcrum Labs. “Our platform is proven to help companies meet their critical KPIs with serving the needs and wants of students. And we’re happy to see that, even in this crisis, AIM has its foot solidly on the accelerator.”
Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) Las Vegas is proud to announce Gabrielle Olivares as a recipient of two scholarships on behalf of Association of Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM). Candice McHargue, the President of Louisville AWAM Chapter, presented the scholarships to Ms. Olivares. The Searching for Success Scholarship, awarded in the amount of $2,000, came with an all-inclusive 3-night stay to attend the annual conference. The Pink Wrench Scholarship, to put towards tool purchases, is valued at $1,500. Mrs. Olivares and other scholarship recipients were honored at the 31st International Women in Aviation Conference at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in March.
Student Awarded Multiple Scholarships
Plane Talk
Aviation Institute of Maintenance Newsletter
VOLUME 30, SPRING 2020
CLASS CHAT
pages 2 and 3
EVENTS
pages 4 and 5
GRADUATES
pages 6 and 7
COMMUNITY
page 8
Students and faculty at the Indianapolis AIM campus have been embarking on the restoration of the school’s Enstrom helicopter. It spent many years sitting disassembled, but is now slowly returning to its former glory. Starting with a “scavenger hunt” through the facility, students found all the various parts and pieces which had been stored in out-of-the-way spots. Re-
attaching the tailboom and installing the rotor blades had it, once again, looking like a helicopter. The next big step was fabricating and installing a new windscreen, door glass and a chin bubble. A group of Non-Metallic Structures students, utilizing all that they had just learned about working with transparent plastics, fabricated new windows to Enstrom specs. Taking theory and applying it to a real-world type of project proved to be both fascinating and educational. Those students involved have taken a great deal of pride in the
final project as “their” helicopter took a big step on its restoration. Along the way, as students and staff began researching the history of this aircraft, some interesting past was revealed. This helicopter, a 1969 Enstrom F- A, was sold new to the New Jersey State Police. Further research revealed that it was the first new aircraft that their fledgling Air Division had acquired. Still holding a special place in the history of the NJSP, this aircraft had been immortalized on their challenge coin! The project continues with searches all over the world for parts needed. Recently, a tail rotor gearbox, complete with rotor blades and pitch control, was found in an aircraft salvage in Wisconsin. Complete but not airworthy, they were available for minimum expense, and when informed of what AIM was doing with them, the seller arranged to drop them off personally so that he could see what our students were doing. As the helicopter becomes more and more complete, its value as a training tool has been evident. When teaching rotary wing flight controls, having an actual rotor head to illustrate just what happens when the controls are moved makes the concepts come alive for students. This has been both a fun and rewarding project. This bird is seeing new life and the students are making it happen.
Capstone at AIM Orlando is the time for students to work with Career Services to learn important career development skills to be able to transition into their chosen career path. One of the most important pieces of Capstone is the mock interview process where students wear their interview attire and answer a series of interview questions to prepare them for real- life interviewing. This year, Career Services in- vited industry members to participate in mock interviews. Avocet, a local aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, accepted the invita- tion and came to assist with the event. The em- ployer is located in Sanford, FL, which is about 30 minutes away from the campus. Avocet has been in business for over 25 years. To date, Avocet has hired 17 of our graduates. AIM Orlando was pleased to have Luis Velazquez, a Human Resource Generalist for Avocet, join in the mock interview process. Students dressed up in interview attire and Luis gave them feedback on their interview skills along with his insight to the aviation mainte- nance industry. This is the second mock interview session that Luis has participated in and AIM was grateful to have him return to the campus. Career Services provided the employer with a list of general and technical questions to ask students. Velazquez was pleased overall with the number of students who participated and responded. After the mock interviews, our guest was able to provide Career Services with his feedback and provided additional questions that can be used for the next mock interview.
Orlando Holds Mock
Interviews with Avocet
for Pending Grads
Nicole Hammer
"The project continues with searches
all over the world for parts needed.
Recently, a tail rotor gearbox, complete
with rotor blades and pitch control, was
found in an aircraft salvage in Wisconsin."
Bob Madigan
Indianapolis Helicopter Restoration
Class Chat
On Monday, November 11, 2019 from 11am to 12pm and 8pm to 9pm, Aviation Institute of Maintenance Orlando (AMO) celebrated Veterans Day with cake and ice cream. During their respective lunch periods, our Day and Evening veterans, which included students and faculty, ate cake with the AIM logo along with chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Approximately 71 veterans were honored. Once the veterans were served, AIM students who were not veterans were able to partake of the celebration fun. The campus Computer Lab was decorated with red, white and blue tablecloths and balloons.
AIM Houston recently held a Continuing Education Training class for 6 CEU credits for all AIM Faculty aptly named “Bueller Bueller Bueller”. The training topic was Teaching Methods, led by Mrs. Carol Woodard on July 19, 2019. This class was very enlightening for our faculty, as we learned how to deal with students of varying ages and backgrounds to know better how to interact with and educate all students. Effective communication skills were reviewed for better communication and interaction with all generations of students who enroll at AIM. Positive feedback was returned by attendees and the training class was an overall success. A working BBQ lunch was held for attendees and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We look forward to future classes with Mrs. Woodard and the company.
Orlando Celebrates Veterans Day with a Sweet Treat
Gail Strickland
Houston Brings the Teacher to the Classroom Daniel J. Flading
Veteran Students Angelique Baker and Elvis Facey and Career Services Coordinator Nicole Hammer
Left Image: Student Lomar Foster and Veteran Lonnie Cooper, Top Right Image: Veteran Samuel Helman enjoys cake and ice Veteran Brandon Robertson, Bottom Right Image: Veteran student Mark Young cream served by AIM staff
Events
Ms. Ashley Pratt-McCray is a recent graduate of the Aviation Institute of Maintenace in Kansas City and a recent recipient of not 1 but 2 scholarships offered to our students at all AIM campuses. She took the initiative to write essays describing her time at the AIM KC campus. That little extra work yielded a Sonic Toolbox and a cash award from the AVGAS foundation. After speaking with her, it was quite apparent that not only is she hard- working and motivated, but she is very quiet and humble in her efforts.
The only reason she agreed to let me write about her and the scholarships was so that some other young ladies getting in the field would see that some came before them. She is a trailblazer for the new women in aviation. After speaking to Ashley, (she prefers Ash), I learned that she is multifaceted. She has a passion for Monster Trucks and one day would like to work on their hydraulic systems. She is a veteran that served in the US Army and a mother of one. She has no time for excuses. She is busy, fast- moving, motivated and quite the force. I know that she will electrify those who take the time to meet and speak with her. It is a pleasure working and coaching her for the ultimate prize, her A & P Certificate.
Kansas City Student
Gets Not One, but Two
Scholarships
"She took the initiative to write essays describing her time at the AIM KC campus...She is a trailblazer for the new women in aviation."
It is always great to have employers on our campus and in our classrooms/hangars to interact and share company and industry information with our student population. But it is even more valuable when an employer is open to having our students visit and tour their physical location. Just in this first quarter of 2020, our students have been able to tour 2 different employers’ facilities. This has been made possible by the early efforts of communication in late 2019 by Career Services with various employ- ers during campus events such as career fairs and PAC meetings. In January 2020, a group of 14 students par- ticipated in a guided tour of Applied Composites & Engineering (ACE), here in Indianapolis. Applied Composites is a leading provider of complex com- posite components, assemblies, engineering and tooling to the aerospace, defense, and space systems markets. Students were able to tour both buildings of their operation. The main building featured state of the art autoclaves, ovens, CNC machining cent- ers, clean rooms and special processing and testing equipment. The second building was an FAA-certified, Part 145 repair station where they engineer and re- build severely damaged parts, repair minor scrapes and wear, and fabricate custom modifications. Our students spent about 2 hours learning about what ACE does as an organization and its impact on the aviation industry as a whole. Then, in February 2020, AAR Corp invited our students to visit and tour their facility at the
Indianapolis International Airport. There were 10 students that attended the tour. AAR is an in- dependent provider of aviation services to com- mercial and government customers worldwide. AAR has several locations throughout the world, but the location in Indianapolis specializes in airframe maintenance and engineering. They
not only have commercial contracts with Fedex Express and Southwest Airlines, they also have governmental contracts with agencies like the US Navy. Various AAR hangar supervisors and even the General Manager along with Human Resources staff members answered questions and provided detailed information about the operations of AAR. After over 2 hours spent with their team, our students gained a greater understanding of exactly how AAR contributes to aviation maintenance.
Indianapolis Hosts Employer Tours
"AAR has several locations
throughout the world, but the location In Indianapolis
specializes in airframe maintenance and engineering."
Events
LEHRMANN, Travis
LERMAN, Pavel
LESTER, Tranelius
LINGAYA, Jefrey A
LOCKHART, Candace
LOGAGLIO, Lawrence
LUSENI, Alfred
MAI, Duy
MAI, Matthew
MANGLONA, Alyssa J
MARTINEZ, Adrian
MASTRACCHIO, David
MCCANN, Joshua
MCCOLGAN, Joseph
MCPHAUL, Ronald
MEANS, Allison R
MEJIAS, Elijah
MENDEZ, John
MITCHELL, Erica
MONDRAGON, Christopher
MORENO, Alan B
MORENO, Carlos
MORRIS, Jerome
MORRIS, Kevin
NGUYEN, Devin
NGUYEN, Tai
NORTON, Bruce
NUNAMAKER, Christopher P
ONEIL, Sean D
ORTEGA, Brandon
ORTEGA, Christian
PALMER, Jeremy
PAREJA, Mateo
PEREZ REYNOSO, Elvis
PETERSON, Sheltric
PETERSON, William
PIMENTEL, Erick O
PLENTIE, Joshua
PO, Sophandara
PRICE, Cameron J
PUENTE, Enrique
ROSARIO, Dominic
ROUSSEY, Justin P
RULE, Rikki F
SALEH, Sari
SALINAS, Sergio
SCHMIDT, Timothy R
SCOTT, Kahiem D
SEELEY, Cymantha B
SHELTON, Noah
SHORT, Corey G
SILVERS, Curtis M
STACKHOUSE, Garrett
STEWART, Stephanie
SZAMBELAK, Joseph
TEUTSCH, Samuel
THOMAS, Stephen
TOWNSEND, Alexander
TRAVER, Sharon
VENABLE, Joey J
WATSON, Paul
WEISS, Christian
WELCH, Phillip
WEST, Brandon T
WILKS, Kennedy W
WILLIAMS, Brook
WILLIAMS, Cedrick
WITTWER, Sabrina
WOLDEGEBRIAL, Solomon
XILOJ, Melinda
ZAREIAN, Hadi
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Graduates (^) Cum Laude * Magna Cum Laude ** Summa Cum Laude ***
McClelland Elementary School has become “our school”. Aviation Institute of Maintenance Indianapolis (AIM Indy) has passionately worked to identify realistic needs and solutions of teachers, parents/guardians, and youth in our adjoining com- munity. Two specific areas of interest have become an essential part of our partnership with McClelland be- cause of the direct impact it has on the staff and stu- dents: the back-to-school drive and the hat and gloves drive. Starting in the 2018-2019 school year, AIM Indy challenged its students, staff, instructors, and adminis- tration to participate in fun, school-functioned drives that would have a substantial impact on students on the school’s end and create a realistic sense of fulfill- ment on ours. In 2018-2019, the back-to-school drive for McClelland Elementary was instantly identified to ensure a large number of students had the required supplies to have a great start to their educational journeys. In doing so, teachers were not as inclined to dig into their own pockets to purchase necessary supplies for their students, and students did not have to start the school year off without having the basic
necessities to actively engage in their education. AIM Indy continued the tradition at the end of July by creating a surplus for the school supply closet, pro- viding materials for art classes, and assisting students with completing their school supply lists for the 2019- 2020 school year. The hats and gloves drive was another immedi- ate need, as the focus was on ensuring students would stay warm during the fall and winter months as they walked to school or stood on the bus stop waiting for their bus to arrive. McClelland reached out to AIM Indy in February of 2019 and asked if there was anything we could do to help the students they noticed arriv- ing to school without hats and/or gloves. AIM Indy immediately stepped into action and hosted a hats and gloves drive and accumulated over 250 hats and gloves for students in just a week! To begin the 2019- 2020 school year, AIM Indy decided to begin the hats and gloves drive before the cold weather settled in and collected an additional 150 hats and gloves for students. The feeling of the impact that we have had during our partnership with McClelland seems tremendous,
but receiving feedback and first-hand testimony of the work AIM Indy has done speaks volumes.
Included below is the personal testimony from Jennifer Nichols, Principal of McClelland Elementary School:
Dear Dana and AIM Friends, You have no idea how much of an impact you have on our students and families, and our STAFF! Man! Your giving hearts are just so precious and appreciated! Because of you, students get to take pride in having NEW school supplies as well as NEW hats and gloves. Parents get to rest easy knowing that their children's needs are being met. Our staff gets to (selfishly) see the joy on the faces of our kids when distributing the items, AND we can provide these items without digging further into our pockets. There is nothing better than feeling valued-and through your generosity-you are making the McClelland School Community feel valued and loved. Thank you.
Indianapolis Partners with McClelland Elementary
On Thursday, October 3rd, 2019, the staff and students from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Philadelphia hosted our 5th annual Women in Aviation Day event. We gave all of our female students and staff members custom Women in Aviation T-shirts. We also served hot dogs, hamburgers, snacks and Rita’s Italian Ice. We even had a 40 ft. obstacle course in which some of the students and staff raced one another through. We invited our local Girl Scout troop, the local Camden Youth Association, as well as state representative Martina White to the celebration. The Women in Aviation event is a chance for women to be recognized, appreciated and respected. It is important to acknowledge all the contributions made by women in the field of Aviation, which is, historically, a male- dominated profession.
Philadelphia
Appreciates
Women in Aviation
Community
