The $15 million project is in partnership with JobsOhio, REDI Cincinnati and the city of Middletown
By Bryn Dippold
Butler Tech has announced that it will be building an Aviation Education Hangar at the Middletown Regional Airport. This will be accomplished with the help of a $1 million grant from the JobsOhio Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP) in partnership with REDI Cincinnati, a local business incubator that is the “first point of contact” for companies considering the Cincinnati region, according to its website.
The city of Middletown is also a partner in this project. Its planned location at the Middletown Regional Airport will have a “significant impact” on the workforce pipeline in Dayton for the aviation industry, according to a press release from Butler Tech.
“With the increase in the need for aviation professionals, the Butler Tech Aviation Education Hangar creates a dynamic opportunity for the Middletown Airport to support the industry and increase opportunities for education in the aviation space,” J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO, says in the same press release. “The Middletown Airport’s location between the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Dayton International airports, along with its proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, makes it ideally situated to bring industry leaders and students together to prepare the future aviation workforce.”
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in nearby Dayton makes the development of this Aviation Education Hangar unique. The aviation industry supports 87.7 million jobs around the world, according to Aviation Benefits Beyond Borders, with 11.3 million jobs being directly in the industry. These jobs include airport operators, other airport-based roles (retail, car rental, customs and immigrations, freight forwarders and catering), airlines, air navigation services and civil aerospace, which includes 1.3 million engineers and designers of civil aircraft, engines and components.
The $15 million project will include a 28,000-square-foot facility, which will host classes and “state-of-the-art” labs. Aviation maintenance, engineering, private pilot training and unmanned aircraft systems will be some of the skills taught and developed in the labs.
Middletown Airport, which is an active airfield, supports FBO (Fixed Base Operator) operations for many aircraft annually and will be ideal for future aviation mechanics.
None of this would be possible without the OSIP grant from JobsOhio, which has allowed the project to move from “preparation to construction.”
“This OSIP grant is a crucial piece of the puzzle, allowing Butler Tech and our partners to begin immediate construction,” Jon Graft, superintendent and CEO of Butler Tech, says. “With all this funding secured and the recent FAA approval for the Air Frame and Power certification, we can now transform the site into a hub of aviation education, providing students with hands-on learning opportunities and preparing them for high-demand careers in the aviation industry.”
At Butler Tech, which serves more than 18,000 high school and adult education students daily on its five campuses and classrooms in local school districts, fostering and supporting these future civil aerospace workers is more important than ever.
“The investment at the Middletown Regional Airport represents an innovative approach to strengthening our region’s aviation corridor with a talent pipeline, allowing educators to train students using a relevant curriculum through hands-on learning labs,” Kimm Lauterbach, president and CEO of REDI Cincinnati, says. “This commitment supports Butler Tech’s dedication to producing students who are both career-ready and prepared for college.”