NWFSC Aviation Center of Excellence Takes Flight, Anticipates First Students in August

Jun. 24—CRESTVIEW — Local tech entrepreneur and education leader Paul Hsu doesn't understand "no," "delay" and "maybe," Triumph Gulf Coast Board Chairman Don Gaetz told an audience of more than 200 people Wednesday evening at Bob Sikes Airport.

They were gathered in an almost 27,000-square-foot former light manufacturing facility that, thanks to Hsu's vision, has been renovated into a multimillion-dollar school called the Northwest Florida State College Aviation Center of Excellence.

What Hsu understands is, "We're going to do the right thing, we're going to do it for the young people of Northwest Florida and we're going to do it now," Gaetz told the crowd at the center's grand opening.

The aviation center stands at 3152 Airport Road on the Hsu Innovation Institute North campus. The center will provide Federal Aviation Administration, industry-recognized certifications in airframe and power plant mechanics, as well as professional pilot technology for both commercial air and drone pilots.

"Those certifications will provide the very skills that are needed by the aviation companies and employers that we are now attracting in greater numbers here in Northwest Florida," said Gaetz, who is a former state senator and Okaloosa County School District superintendent. "It is one thing to bring jobs here. It is quite another thing to not have the workforce that can fill and compete for those jobs, and that's the critical part that this Aviation Center of Excellence plays in the overall scheme of things in building an aviation economy in Northwest Florida."

The school was created through a vast public-private partnership among the nonprofit Hsu Educational Foundation in Fort Walton Beach, Northwest Florida State College, Okaloosa County, Triumph Gulf Coast, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Air Force and other supporters.

Last summer, the Triumph Gulf Coast Board approved a grant of more than $7 million to NWFSC — the largest grant in the college's history — to help fund the aviation center.

At Wednesday's ceremony, Gaetz said Triumph supports the effort because students at the center who earn certifications will simultaneously earn college credits toward potential bachelor's degrees.

"But even if they don't earn degrees, the students who earn certifications here in this place will earn 50% more in their personal income than the general population of Okaloosa County," Gaetz said.

For example, the average annual salary for someone who earns airframe and power plant mechanic certifications at the center would be about $62,000, compared to the area's average annual salary of about $42,000, according to Triumph information.

Gaetz said NWF State and its supporters have raised $7.3 million, for a total commitment of $14.3 million for the center.

Hsu supported the college with a build-to-suit lease at the air park to meet the center's needs, and county and FDOT officials supported it with the construction of the center's parking lot at a cost of more than $600,000.

Hsu's educational foundation empowers teaching excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and offers scholarships and other support for programs that encourage entrepreneurship, leadership, career technical training and cultural enrichment.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what you are seeing today is really just the start of much growth to come at Bob Sikes Airport," said Hsu, who was joined at the grand opening by his wife, son and three of his grandchildren. "I believe there is going to be a couple more phases of this public-private partnership effort in the future, so I sincerely thank you all for believing in the importance of this vision becoming a reality."

Aviation is a fast-moving and growing industry, and there's a great need to have skilled personnel to maintain and fly aircraft and to ensure that the air transportation system runs smoothly on a global scale, NWF State President Devin Stephenson told the audience.

He said that according to the 2020 Boeing Commercial Market Outlook, air travel traffic is expected to increase exponentially, with an additional 2.1 million jobs in operational fields during the next 10 years.

"This aviation program is poised to set our students up for success in several aerospace-related programs," Stephenson said.

Before the start of Wednesday's ceremony, Michael Erny, dean of career education at NWF State, told the Daily News that the first courses at the aviation center are expected to begin this August.

Triple R Construction of Navarre was the general contractor for the center. Erny said while the building's steel roof is original, every other part of the former light manufacturing structure was replaced for the new facility.

It includes the addition of a hangar door to allow aircraft to enter the facility. One of the first airplanes donated for the students' benefit was given by Hsu's business partner, Bob Keller.

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