Mayor Mitch Colvin | City of Fayetteville website
Mayor Mitch Colvin | City of Fayetteville website
Applications are now available for the youth Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academy hosted by the Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY). The two-day academy will be held on Aug. 5 and 6 at the Fayetteville Regional Airport’s Fire Training Facility.
The ACE Academy offers middle and high school students an opportunity to get a hands-on, immersive experience in airport commercial areas, air carrier operations, and FAA control tower operations. Students will meet professionals in the aerospace workforce, learn about potential career paths, get an insider’s view on operations within the national airspace system, and see firsthand how air traffic controllers manage the skies and ensure safe flights.
FAY was recently awarded a $3,000 North Carolina Department of Transportation grant to support the ACE Academy. This is the third year in a row that FAY has been awarded the grant to host the academy for students.
With aviation and aerospace professionals in high demand, there is hope that participants will be inspired to explore careers in these fields once they complete the academy.
“We want to ensure we fill the aviation pipeline. Airports are suffering right now with the national pilot shortage. Solving this problem is not an overnight task; however, we can work to backfill the loss over time with FAY’s ACE Academy,” Interim Airport Director Deontae Watson stated.
Airport operations support a diverse and viable economy, a strategic goal of the Fayetteville City Council. More than 339,019 passengers chose to fly through FAY within the last year. According to a recent NCDOT report, FAY has an $813 million economic impact on the region supporting 3,685 jobs and generating $38.6 million in local and state taxes.
The deadline to submit ACE applications is June 7 at 5 p.m. Participants will be selected for the camp on a first-come, first-served basis. Call 910-433-1160 or email Airport@FayettevilleNC.gov with questions. Online applications are available at FlyFay.com/AceAcademy Visit FlyFay.com to learn more about FAY's history, available flights, and training services.
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