JENKS, OK – A new organization, with the mission of promoting careers in aviation maintenance, is offering award opportunities for aviation maintenance programs, their instructors, and students. The deadline to apply is Oct. 15, 2020.

Choose Aerospace will provide $25,000 worth of scholarships, textbooks, training systems, and testing fee credits to educators and future aviators. “Trying to kick off a new scholarship program in the midst of a national workforce crises is challenging to say the least, but we have been overwhelmed by the community’s steadfast support to get it off the ground,” said AAR Vice President Workforce Development and Choose Aerospace President Ryan Goertzen. “It illustrates the commitment this industry has to supporting our future leaders, even in the midst of crises.”

Scholarship donors include the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA), Nida Corporation, AVOTEK, Aircraft Technical Book Company and CertTEC. Choose Aerospace will also provide a $2,500 award funded by the organization’s founding steering committee members: United Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, Envoy Air, AAR, PSA Airlines, AVOTEK, Aviation Technical Services, ASA, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, ARSA, the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, and the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC).

“Despite the recent challenges, some schools are seeing record enrollments in aviation technical programs,” said Goertzen. “That is an opportunity for industry, we must keep supporting the workforce pipeline, now more so than ever.”

Eligible applicants must be enrolled at or teach in an aviation technical program. ATEC membership is not required but is a top consideration for the review committee when selecting award recipients. Apply at www.chooseaerospace.org/scholarship.

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About Choose Aerospace, Inc. Choose Aerospace is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting aerospace technical careers. It is a partnership of stakeholders within professional aviation and aerospace industries, joined together to address one of the biggest threats to continued industry growth: the availability of a diverse, qualified technical workforce. Choose Aerospace is facilitated through the Aviation Technician Education Council, a trade association representing aviation technical education.

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Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 147 governs aviation maintenance technician schools and mandates what our technical programs teach aspiring aviators. The regulation was originally established in 1962 and has not been significantly revised since. For over a decade, the council has actively advocated for a new part 147, imploring the Federal Aviation Administration to promulgate a regulation that would release schools from unnecessary restrictions and allow the community to properly prepare future aviators for their aspiring careers.

With no relief in sight, the community asked Congress for help. In a bipartisan effort, House and Senate leaders introduced The Promoting Aviation Regulations for Technical Training (PARTT) 147 Act (S.3043/H.R.5427), legislation that, if signed into law, would direct the FAA to reform the out-dated regulation and promulgate a community-drafted rule that would allow schools to innovate while removing unnecessary restraints with no impact on aviation safety.

The inflexibility of the current rule is especially acute in the COVID-impacted environment. Under the current regulatory framework, schools must obtain FAA approval before providing aviation technical program content online. The restriction is yet another example of unnecessary regulatory interference that ultimately deprives students of their ability to complete their course of study. ATEC is therefore doubling down on its efforts to generate support for the Act, and asking that Congress consider including it in any must-pass legislation this Congress.

The PARTT 147 Act would adopt a performance-based approach, whereby the FAA would defer to Department of Education oversight for all matters concerning quality of education, and give schools the freedom to create curriculum based on competencies and industry needs. Community leaders are encouraged to take the following steps to solicit congressional support for the PARTT 147 Act:

James William Rice passed away Sunday, July 26, 2020 in Webster TX at the age of 88.

Dr. Rice was a founding member of ATEC, and instrumental in its creation in 1961. The Northrop Rice Foundation was established in the Rice family name in 1994 to provide annual scholarships and awards to the aviation technical education community. It continues to be a valuable resource for aviation technical programs, instructors, and students.

Jim was born in Chicago, IL on May 14, 1932 to James William Rice and Helen Margaret Lyons. Dr. Rice was in aviation his entire life, working at Braniff, Continental, Bendix, Western Electric and Lockheed before founding Rice Aviation in Houston in 1972 to teach aircraft mechanics. After receiving his Ed.D from the University of Houston in 1977, Dr. Rice alongside his wife Mary Alice, helped thousands of students through the rigorous FAA Airframe and Powerplant curriculum resulting in aviation careers for many local Texans.

Dr. Rice's full obituary is available at www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=james-rice&pid=196564504&fhid=19433.

A lovely tribute, written by Dr. Rice's friend and colleague Vince Jones, was published in AMT Magazine in April: www.aviationpros.com/education-training/article/21142019/jim-rices-career

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Northrop Rice Foundation to help further the Dr. James W. Rice and Mary Alice Rice tradition of education of aviation maintenance personnel.