TURNERS FALLS — Franklin County Technical School’s Aviation Maintenance Technology Program has earned its Federal Aviation Administration certification, paving the way for students to earn the necessary qualifications to work on the structural parts of an aircraft.
After a delay due to the government shutdown in late 2025, the Aviation Maintenance Technology Program is now certified as an Airframe training facility, bringing to fruition a long-awaited goal of getting a curriculum approved for students to begin counting hours toward their certification.
According to the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, a training facility that holds an Airframe certification can work on the structural parts of an aircraft, like the landing gear, fuselage and wings. The Airframe rating is one half of the certification used for aircraft mechanics; the other half is Powerplant, which clears them to work on aircraft engines.
Superintendent Richard Martin said he feels a sense of relief now that the program has the FAA certification it has been waiting for. He said this program wouldn’t have happened without the support of Turners Falls Municipal Airport Manager Bryan Camden, who is also a member of the School Committee.
“We’re able to work together and get it to a point that it could receive approval,” Martin said.
Originally, the expectation was to have the curriculum be FAA-certified by the end of summer 2025, but the government shutdown impacted the ability of FAA staff to issue the certification. At last, FAA safety instructors William Cone and Michael Edreich visited earlier this month to present the program certificate.
According to Franklin Tech, Edreich said the program is a “great opportunity” for students.
“They don’t have to spend three years working someplace or [spend] tens of thousands of dollars to go to a school,” Edreich said in a statement. “They’ll be able to take the certification test when they’re 18.”
This aviation program was born out of a $4.2 million state grant the school received in 2022. Since then, Franklin Tech has constructed a 12,000-square-foot aviation hangar to house the program.
The hangar has classroom space and features various pieces of aviation electronics, called avionics, as well as a hydraulics room and a dark room used to examine aircraft equipment and pieces for small cracks. Students also have access to jet engine mock-ups to learn the mechanisms. One of the unique features of the hangar is a 20,000-pound door that opens to access the tarmac behind the building.
“We’re one of only a few vocational high schools in the country that has FAA certification for aircraft maintenance technicians,” Martin said in a statement. “As certified aircraft maintenance technicians, our students will have job opportunities not only in Massachusetts, but throughout the entire United States.”
Before the FAA officially certified the program, students had been getting some foundational skills from instructor Michael McIntyre, who said that with this experience, they would be able to start learning the FAA-certified curriculum on strong footing.
“Before [the certification], we operated it almost like a STEM program,” he said. “They were getting to know all the basics of everything, which they’ve got to kind of redo, but now that they have it, it’s a lot easier for them. It’s a lot faster for them.”
As students progress through high school, they’ll be logging hours leading up to certification exams that they will take late in their senior year. McIntyre explained that students will have to take three exams: written, oral and practical exams. He said students can get at least one or two of the exams completed before graduation.
McIntyre noted that Airframe certification from the FAA is recognized by “every aircraft repair station operator, manufacturer, you name it,” making for a strong, well-paying job market for Franklin Tech graduates. Certified aviation mechanics are in high demand and salaries can range from $50,000 to more than $200,000.
Other industries such as railroads, wind turbine manufacturers and power plants also recognize the certifications, which further opens up the potential job market for graduates, McIntyre added.
With FAA certification acting as wind in its sails, the Aviation Maintenance Technology Program is not yet finished growing. Now that its curriculum is certified, Martin said the goal is to make sure the program remains up to date with changes in curriculum standards.
Additionally, McIntyre said in a statement that the school is in a position to begin looking at also becoming a Powerplant-certified program, which would allow students to work toward becoming certified to work on aircraft engines.
If Powerplant certification is obtained, students can work toward earning an Airframe and Powerplant License, but people can hold one or both parts of this license and still work in the industry within the bounds of their respective certification.
When asked how the students are doing in the program thus far, McIntyre said the nine sophomores and seven freshmen have “stepped up.” He highlighted how first-year students are engaged with much of the bookwork that needs to be done before they can start some of the more hands-on learning. The sophomores persevered through the early stages of the program before the hangar was available and continue to be engaged.
“In the high school setting,” McIntyre said, “having your own [Airframe training facility] is a real feather in our cap.” He added that it’s “a real bonus for the students that they’re learning at the level that they’re currently at.”