North Idaho High School Aerospace Program continues to expand aviation education

The North Idaho High School Aerospace Program, Inc. is a non-profit offering STEM training and career pathways opportunities to any students in our area. Middle and high school students learn skills and positive attitudes by working on building, restoring, repairing and flying real airplanes. We are in our seventh year and I think the program’s development parallels in some ways the forward progress our local airport and aerospace industries have made.

Each year, for example, our classes get larger and the students younger. These students learn about airplanes, of course, but possibly the best thing they learn is that they have the support and encouragement of a large number of successful people in our aviation community. Everything our program does for students is accomplished by donations and fantastic volunteers who devote seemingly endless hours working closely with students. We believe a young person’s confidence and view of the world are enhanced by the professional relationships they develop. Nowhere do we see this happening more effectively than with our mentors and flight instructors working with our students.

Local aviation businesses also are growing and as they do, opportunity in our local community increases. We get a lot of professional guidance and even direct financial scholarship support from local aircraft companies. Daher Aircraft (formerly Quest) and Tamarack Aerospace Group (both at the Sandpoint Airport) have played a big role in helping us offer academic classes at Sandpoint High School. Tamarack Aerospace recently gave two students a complimentary flight in a Citation jet. Life Flight has supported our high school classes and has offered important counseling to several of our students. Timberline Helicopters has stood with our program for a long time, but recently helped four students progress in flight training with scholarships. Andrew Berrey and his staff at Granite Aviation have been incredible supporters of our students in many ways. The local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) over the years has donated numerous scholarships for flight students, parts of their airplane building projects and mentors whose experience with aviation and airplanes have been invaluable. As these organizations grow and do amazing things, our program benefits. We believe the opposite is also true: As our program develops and grows it helps the local aviation community.

In just the past few years, 26 of our students have moved into aviation careers or into aviation college programs. We are proud of every one of our students and we are very proud of how our program has grown right alongside the local aviation/aerospace industry and the Sandpoint Airport.