COTC 7 Dec 2025 Legacy Aviation in Traverse City

1
00:00:00,719 --> 00:00:04,160
[Speaker 0]
Good morning, Northern Michigan. This is Mike, and

2
00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,740
[Speaker 0]
this is Cup of Traverse City for the

3
00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,719
[Speaker 0]
seventh of December twenty twenty five. And, yes,

4
00:00:10,719 --> 00:00:13,139
[Speaker 0]
I said this is going to be a

5
00:00:13,705 --> 00:00:16,425
[Speaker 0]
weekday podcast, but I figured I'm gonna throw

6
00:00:16,425 --> 00:00:18,685
[Speaker 0]
a special episode in once in a while.

7
00:00:18,825 --> 00:00:20,425
[Speaker 0]
I'm also gonna put this out on Mike

8
00:00:20,425 --> 00:00:24,105
[Speaker 0]
Dell's world, so that's the way it works.

9
00:00:24,105 --> 00:00:29,590
[Speaker 0]
But, anyhoo, I had the pleasure of interviewing

10
00:00:30,050 --> 00:00:37,170
[Speaker 0]
Dan Jonkoff. He's the founder and current chairman

11
00:00:37,170 --> 00:00:40,710
[Speaker 0]
of the board and, all that for Legacy

12
00:00:40,930 --> 00:00:45,925
[Speaker 0]
Aviation Learning Center. Aviation it's an aviation school

13
00:00:45,925 --> 00:00:49,445
[Speaker 0]
here in Traverse City that, boasts the fact

14
00:00:49,445 --> 00:00:52,725
[Speaker 0]
that you can start and finish within one

15
00:00:52,725 --> 00:00:55,285
[Speaker 0]
year and become an A and P, which

16
00:00:55,285 --> 00:01:00,750
[Speaker 0]
is a airframe and power plant person for,

17
00:01:01,070 --> 00:01:05,230
[Speaker 0]
you know, mechanic on aircraft. And what's cool

18
00:01:05,230 --> 00:01:09,010
[Speaker 0]
about, you know, being one year is, normally,

19
00:01:09,150 --> 00:01:11,470
[Speaker 0]
it takes two years. Or if you do

20
00:01:11,470 --> 00:01:14,735
[Speaker 0]
an apprentice program, it takes three plus years.

21
00:01:14,955 --> 00:01:18,395
[Speaker 0]
So this works out pretty well for the

22
00:01:18,395 --> 00:01:24,715
[Speaker 0]
students. And, they're a nonprofit, so it's, you

23
00:01:24,715 --> 00:01:27,375
[Speaker 0]
know, it's all for a good cause. So,

24
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,840
[Speaker 0]
anyway, I've got an interview with Dan, and

25
00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,920
[Speaker 0]
I'm gonna play that here. And everybody have

26
00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:39,220
[Speaker 0]
a good Sunday. So today, I'm at Legacy

27
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,905
[Speaker 0]
Aviation in Traverse City. It's a, A and

28
00:01:42,905 --> 00:01:46,185
[Speaker 0]
P school, but I'll let, the founder and,

29
00:01:46,825 --> 00:01:51,145
[Speaker 0]
chairman of the board, Dan Junkoff, that will,

30
00:01:52,505 --> 00:01:53,785
[Speaker 0]
will tell you all about it. How are

31
00:01:53,785 --> 00:01:54,585
[Speaker 0]
you doing, Dan?

32
00:01:54,585 --> 00:01:55,965
[Speaker 1]
Great, Mike. How are you?

33
00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,760
[Speaker 0]
So far, so good. I just all coffeed

34
00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:00,520
[Speaker 0]
up and, you know, we already had one

35
00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:01,900
[Speaker 0]
incident today. So

36
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,240
[Speaker 1]
Well, you called me chief cooking bottle washer,

37
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:06,200
[Speaker 1]
and I cleaned it up.

38
00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:07,400
[Speaker 0]
So Yeah. There you go.

39
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:08,680
[Speaker 1]
You're absolutely right.

40
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:10,840
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. I had a little coffee incident here

41
00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,084
[Speaker 0]
in the office, but, but, that's alright. So,

42
00:02:14,405 --> 00:02:16,005
[Speaker 0]
tell us a little bit about, you know,

43
00:02:16,005 --> 00:02:18,165
[Speaker 0]
how this all got started and what's the

44
00:02:18,165 --> 00:02:20,165
[Speaker 0]
goals, you know, just hey. Give me your

45
00:02:20,165 --> 00:02:21,224
[Speaker 0]
give me your spiel.

46
00:02:21,444 --> 00:02:23,605
[Speaker 1]
Well, sure. Glad to do it. It's been

47
00:02:23,605 --> 00:02:25,750
[Speaker 1]
a fun journey so far. And it all

48
00:02:25,750 --> 00:02:29,770
[Speaker 1]
started when, I retired from my, first career,

49
00:02:30,790 --> 00:02:33,830
[Speaker 1]
and only career other than, what I'm doing

50
00:02:33,830 --> 00:02:36,310
[Speaker 1]
here at Legacy Aviation Learning Center is I,

51
00:02:38,375 --> 00:02:42,395
[Speaker 1]
was a funeral director and owned, funeral homes,

52
00:02:42,455 --> 00:02:45,815
[Speaker 1]
and I was a fifth generation. And finally,

53
00:02:45,815 --> 00:02:48,715
[Speaker 1]
my daughters took over. They're both funeral directors.

54
00:02:48,775 --> 00:02:52,599
[Speaker 1]
And, so it was important that I let

55
00:02:52,599 --> 00:02:55,239
[Speaker 1]
them be on their own. Be Yeah. Why

56
00:02:55,239 --> 00:02:57,319
[Speaker 1]
not? A funeral home where, you know, every

57
00:02:57,319 --> 00:02:59,080
[Speaker 1]
young person should do, and that's make it

58
00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:00,680
[Speaker 1]
even better than I left it.

59
00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:01,180
[Speaker 0]
Yeah.

60
00:03:01,239 --> 00:03:04,920
[Speaker 1]
And, so I was, talking with my wife

61
00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:07,720
[Speaker 1]
and telling her how, retirement was really boring.

62
00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,165
[Speaker 1]
You know, know, I was used to working

63
00:03:09,224 --> 00:03:11,064
[Speaker 1]
seven days a week, twenty four hours a

64
00:03:11,064 --> 00:03:15,545
[Speaker 1]
day, like often funeral directors do, and, because

65
00:03:15,545 --> 00:03:18,825
[Speaker 1]
nobody makes an appointment, when they're gonna die.

66
00:03:18,825 --> 00:03:19,305
[Speaker 1]
Right?

67
00:03:19,305 --> 00:03:19,805
[Speaker 0]
Correct.

68
00:03:19,944 --> 00:03:26,240
[Speaker 1]
Yep. Anyway, so, she said, well, gosh. You've

69
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,240
[Speaker 1]
been flying for, like, forty five years. You

70
00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,060
[Speaker 1]
should, you know, do something at the airport.

71
00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:34,880
[Speaker 1]
And I looked at her and said, boy,

72
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,560
[Speaker 1]
I've always wanted to be on the airport

73
00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,360
[Speaker 1]
authority. And she said, well, you should apply.

74
00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,535
[Speaker 1]
So I, called the airport authority, and they

75
00:03:42,535 --> 00:03:44,535
[Speaker 1]
said, well, believe it or not, the deadline

76
00:03:44,535 --> 00:03:47,895
[Speaker 1]
to apply is tomorrow at five o'clock. And

77
00:03:47,895 --> 00:03:51,095
[Speaker 1]
so I quick called the, person that's supposed

78
00:03:51,095 --> 00:03:54,350
[Speaker 1]
to get the, application. She said, I'll send

79
00:03:54,350 --> 00:03:55,630
[Speaker 1]
it to you. You gotta have it to

80
00:03:55,630 --> 00:03:58,990
[Speaker 1]
me by five o'clock tomorrow. And I, did

81
00:03:58,990 --> 00:04:02,270
[Speaker 1]
everything she said. And, next thing you know,

82
00:04:02,270 --> 00:04:04,510
[Speaker 1]
I was, called to do an interview, and

83
00:04:04,510 --> 00:04:07,255
[Speaker 1]
there were five or six people interviewing. And

84
00:04:07,255 --> 00:04:10,375
[Speaker 1]
I did the interview with a, whole bunch

85
00:04:10,375 --> 00:04:13,015
[Speaker 1]
of people in the room, county commissioners and,

86
00:04:13,815 --> 00:04:17,895
[Speaker 1]
and, administrative type people. And, next thing you

87
00:04:17,895 --> 00:04:20,590
[Speaker 1]
know, I got appointed to the airport commission

88
00:04:20,750 --> 00:04:21,070
[Speaker 0]
Yeah.

89
00:04:21,230 --> 00:04:22,530
[Speaker 1]
Which was kinda exciting.

90
00:04:22,670 --> 00:04:24,350
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. Sure is. I've been to a couple

91
00:04:24,350 --> 00:04:25,170
[Speaker 0]
of those meetings.

92
00:04:25,390 --> 00:04:28,750
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Well, our airport has turned into an

93
00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:33,085
[Speaker 1]
authority from a commission, because we finally you

94
00:04:33,085 --> 00:04:36,045
[Speaker 1]
know, we're gonna have a million people, come

95
00:04:36,045 --> 00:04:37,965
[Speaker 1]
in and out of our airport on the

96
00:04:37,965 --> 00:04:41,405
[Speaker 1]
airlines, this year, over a million, actually. And

97
00:04:41,405 --> 00:04:44,045
[Speaker 1]
so now we have our own police force,

98
00:04:44,045 --> 00:04:47,439
[Speaker 1]
our own fire department, our own in house

99
00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:50,560
[Speaker 1]
attorney, our own in house engineer. It's quite

100
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:52,800
[Speaker 1]
the little airport. We're now the third biggest

101
00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:54,159
[Speaker 1]
airport in the state of Michigan.

102
00:04:54,159 --> 00:04:56,240
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. And I think I think last I

103
00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:57,699
[Speaker 0]
looked, you're the second busiest.

104
00:04:58,465 --> 00:04:59,185
[Speaker 1]
Oh, really?

105
00:04:59,185 --> 00:05:00,705
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. I think that was what I had

106
00:05:00,705 --> 00:05:01,445
[Speaker 0]
read somewhere.

107
00:05:01,745 --> 00:05:03,185
[Speaker 1]
I don't know how that could be true.

108
00:05:03,185 --> 00:05:05,505
[Speaker 1]
I gotta believe Grand Rapids and Detroit beat

109
00:05:05,505 --> 00:05:06,805
[Speaker 1]
us out. But Yeah.

110
00:05:06,865 --> 00:05:08,145
[Speaker 0]
So maybe maybe it was the third.

111
00:05:08,145 --> 00:05:09,985
[Speaker 1]
I don't remember. Third is probably the right

112
00:05:09,985 --> 00:05:12,140
[Speaker 1]
answer. I hate to say it. But, anyway,

113
00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,340
[Speaker 1]
so I got on the, the authority, and

114
00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:24,280
[Speaker 1]
the, orientation consists of showing everybody who is

115
00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,764
[Speaker 1]
new to the authority every square inch of

116
00:05:26,764 --> 00:05:29,245
[Speaker 1]
the airport. Mhmm. Did I say every square

117
00:05:29,245 --> 00:05:29,724
[Speaker 1]
inch?

118
00:05:29,724 --> 00:05:30,284
[Speaker 0]
Oh, yeah.

119
00:05:30,284 --> 00:05:33,485
[Speaker 1]
Truly the truth. And, so went through the

120
00:05:33,485 --> 00:05:36,044
[Speaker 1]
building, went through the parking lots, went through

121
00:05:36,044 --> 00:05:38,525
[Speaker 1]
everything, and we even decide then get in

122
00:05:38,525 --> 00:05:41,410
[Speaker 1]
a car and we drive up and down

123
00:05:42,030 --> 00:05:45,310
[Speaker 1]
and all around the airport. And, we go

124
00:05:45,310 --> 00:05:47,550
[Speaker 1]
by all the buildings, explain what's in them,

125
00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:49,790
[Speaker 1]
who's in them, what they do. And we,

126
00:05:50,190 --> 00:05:52,030
[Speaker 1]
stopped in front of the building we're in

127
00:05:52,030 --> 00:05:56,134
[Speaker 1]
right now doing this interview. And, Kevin Klein,

128
00:05:56,134 --> 00:05:59,335
[Speaker 1]
our, the director of our airport executive g

129
00:05:59,414 --> 00:06:02,615
[Speaker 1]
CEO, he says, you know, isn't it the

130
00:06:02,615 --> 00:06:06,134
[Speaker 1]
same? That airport that building right there is

131
00:06:06,134 --> 00:06:08,395
[Speaker 1]
gonna be sold tomorrow or the next day,

132
00:06:09,289 --> 00:06:11,210
[Speaker 1]
and it's gonna be sold for a non

133
00:06:11,210 --> 00:06:13,690
[Speaker 1]
aviation use. And he says

134
00:06:13,770 --> 00:06:15,210
[Speaker 0]
I heard rumors about that.

135
00:06:15,210 --> 00:06:17,690
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Everybody heard rumors. Well, the rumors were

136
00:06:17,690 --> 00:06:19,289
[Speaker 1]
that it was gonna be sold to people

137
00:06:19,289 --> 00:06:22,285
[Speaker 1]
who are gonna grow marijuana in it. Well,

138
00:06:22,285 --> 00:06:24,465
[Speaker 1]
as soon as it becomes a non aviation

139
00:06:24,604 --> 00:06:28,205
[Speaker 1]
use, this particular building is on city property,

140
00:06:28,205 --> 00:06:30,444
[Speaker 1]
not airport property, and it has what they

141
00:06:30,444 --> 00:06:32,444
[Speaker 1]
call a hole in the fence. Yeah. But

142
00:06:32,444 --> 00:06:35,004
[Speaker 1]
as soon as, it's a non aviation use,

143
00:06:35,004 --> 00:06:37,585
[Speaker 1]
the hole in the fence gets closed forever,

144
00:06:37,940 --> 00:06:40,340
[Speaker 1]
never to open again. So I went home,

145
00:06:40,340 --> 00:06:42,260
[Speaker 1]
told my wife that, look, we can't let

146
00:06:42,260 --> 00:06:46,419
[Speaker 1]
this cool building, you know, become a non

147
00:06:46,419 --> 00:06:48,979
[Speaker 1]
aviation use, and have the hole in the

148
00:06:48,979 --> 00:06:51,335
[Speaker 1]
fence go away. And she said, well, how

149
00:06:51,335 --> 00:06:52,615
[Speaker 1]
much is it? And I told her, she

150
00:06:52,615 --> 00:06:56,155
[Speaker 1]
said, well, you need a partner. For sure.

151
00:06:56,294 --> 00:06:58,215
[Speaker 1]
So I got I called a couple of

152
00:06:58,215 --> 00:07:00,935
[Speaker 1]
friends and, one of them said, absolutely. I'm

153
00:07:00,935 --> 00:07:03,014
[Speaker 1]
in. I'll be your half partner in this

154
00:07:03,014 --> 00:07:05,390
[Speaker 1]
building. So we called up the owner and

155
00:07:05,390 --> 00:07:08,510
[Speaker 1]
said, look, we've got, we're gonna do something

156
00:07:08,510 --> 00:07:10,110
[Speaker 1]
with that building. We don't know what it's

157
00:07:10,110 --> 00:07:12,910
[Speaker 1]
gonna be, but, we're gonna help kids, and

158
00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:13,950
[Speaker 1]
we don't know how.

159
00:07:13,950 --> 00:07:14,051
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. But we're gonna do something a lot

160
00:07:14,051 --> 00:07:14,152
[Speaker 2]
better than possible other uses that are being

161
00:07:14,152 --> 00:07:14,690
[Speaker 2]
yoked at. Right. And,

162
00:07:17,515 --> 00:07:19,595
[Speaker 1]
possible other uses that are being looked at.

163
00:07:19,595 --> 00:07:20,095
[Speaker 0]
Right.

164
00:07:20,235 --> 00:07:23,595
[Speaker 1]
And, and he said, well, I'll have to

165
00:07:23,595 --> 00:07:26,315
[Speaker 1]
think about that. And he stopped the other

166
00:07:26,315 --> 00:07:30,235
[Speaker 1]
sale to think about it. I presume. I'm

167
00:07:30,235 --> 00:07:32,670
[Speaker 1]
not actually sure about that, but I know

168
00:07:32,670 --> 00:07:35,150
[Speaker 1]
it was supposed to happen quick. And, he

169
00:07:35,150 --> 00:07:37,890
[Speaker 1]
came back to us and said, it's yours.

170
00:07:38,350 --> 00:07:41,230
[Speaker 0]
Nice. It's a nice building. It's been used

171
00:07:41,230 --> 00:07:42,910
[Speaker 0]
for a couple other things. You know, in

172
00:07:42,910 --> 00:07:44,670
[Speaker 0]
the front half of the building, it was

173
00:07:44,670 --> 00:07:48,105
[Speaker 0]
a TV station at one point. I forget

174
00:07:48,105 --> 00:07:50,745
[Speaker 0]
what else was in here, but, you know,

175
00:07:50,745 --> 00:07:54,025
[Speaker 0]
and then, somebody had rented the the hangar

176
00:07:54,025 --> 00:07:56,105
[Speaker 0]
part and, you know, but it's it is

177
00:07:56,105 --> 00:07:58,185
[Speaker 0]
unique that you have that hole in the

178
00:07:58,185 --> 00:08:01,545
[Speaker 0]
fence where the building's not owned or not

179
00:08:01,545 --> 00:08:05,610
[Speaker 0]
on on, land that's, so you own the

180
00:08:05,610 --> 00:08:08,169
[Speaker 0]
land with the building where if you build

181
00:08:08,169 --> 00:08:09,930
[Speaker 0]
something on the airport, you get a lease.

182
00:08:09,930 --> 00:08:11,210
[Speaker 0]
Right? Is that how that works?

183
00:08:11,210 --> 00:08:12,889
[Speaker 1]
That's exactly how it works. And all of

184
00:08:12,889 --> 00:08:15,825
[Speaker 1]
a sudden, you know, your world is governed

185
00:08:15,965 --> 00:08:20,605
[Speaker 1]
by the FAA, TSA, and and everybody else

186
00:08:20,605 --> 00:08:22,445
[Speaker 1]
that has to live on the airport. And

187
00:08:22,445 --> 00:08:24,544
[Speaker 1]
we're not governed by any of those people.

188
00:08:24,605 --> 00:08:26,700
[Speaker 1]
Right. We just pay taxes to the city,

189
00:08:26,780 --> 00:08:28,240
[Speaker 1]
and that's pretty priceless.

190
00:08:28,620 --> 00:08:29,580
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. For sure.

191
00:08:29,580 --> 00:08:31,500
[Speaker 1]
You know, we have a lease that's not

192
00:08:31,500 --> 00:08:33,180
[Speaker 1]
a fifty year lease or a hundred year

193
00:08:33,180 --> 00:08:35,100
[Speaker 1]
lease. It's a forever lease till I sell

194
00:08:35,100 --> 00:08:35,420
[Speaker 1]
it.

195
00:08:35,420 --> 00:08:35,900
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. And

196
00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:37,740
[Speaker 1]
I don't have to get anybody's permission on

197
00:08:37,740 --> 00:08:40,365
[Speaker 1]
who I sell it to. Yeah. It's a

198
00:08:40,365 --> 00:08:40,845
[Speaker 1]
it's a

199
00:08:40,845 --> 00:08:42,925
[Speaker 0]
beautiful building, and you guys really have it

200
00:08:42,925 --> 00:08:45,485
[Speaker 0]
fitted out pretty well for its intended use

201
00:08:45,485 --> 00:08:45,985
[Speaker 0]
now.

202
00:08:46,045 --> 00:08:48,605
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. A friend of mine actually built

203
00:08:48,605 --> 00:08:50,285
[Speaker 1]
it a long time ago when I was

204
00:08:50,285 --> 00:08:54,399
[Speaker 1]
probably in my late late twenties, believe it

205
00:08:54,399 --> 00:08:56,640
[Speaker 1]
or not. And, he used to have a

206
00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,880
[Speaker 1]
King Air, and he would drive it into

207
00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,959
[Speaker 1]
the hangar. And then he went It's a

208
00:09:00,959 --> 00:09:01,519
[Speaker 0]
big hanger.

209
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,399
[Speaker 1]
Back it out of the hangar. And he

210
00:09:04,399 --> 00:09:06,640
[Speaker 1]
had a garage door opener that opened the

211
00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,495
[Speaker 1]
door when he arrived, and it was pretty

212
00:09:09,495 --> 00:09:09,975
[Speaker 1]
slick.

213
00:09:09,975 --> 00:09:12,375
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. The guy I knew that, rented it

214
00:09:12,375 --> 00:09:14,055
[Speaker 0]
for a while had a King Air ninety

215
00:09:14,215 --> 00:09:14,695
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.

216
00:09:14,855 --> 00:09:15,495
[Speaker 0]
In here.

217
00:09:15,495 --> 00:09:16,215
[Speaker 1]
That's right.

218
00:09:16,215 --> 00:09:17,655
[Speaker 0]
It's probably the same guy.

219
00:09:17,655 --> 00:09:18,395
[Speaker 1]
Bob Andrews?

220
00:09:18,775 --> 00:09:20,315
[Speaker 0]
No. I'm thinking Bob Goff.

221
00:09:20,375 --> 00:09:22,135
[Speaker 1]
Bob Goff, actually. I think he

222
00:09:22,135 --> 00:09:22,855
[Speaker 0]
did After that.

223
00:09:22,855 --> 00:09:25,740
[Speaker 1]
Yep. So Isn't that something? I'd forgot Bob

224
00:09:25,740 --> 00:09:26,780
[Speaker 1]
was here. You're right.

225
00:09:26,780 --> 00:09:29,200
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. I flew with him several times.

226
00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:32,780
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Well, anyway, after we, we got the

227
00:09:32,780 --> 00:09:35,260
[Speaker 1]
building, we, didn't quite know what to do

228
00:09:35,260 --> 00:09:37,440
[Speaker 1]
with it that was gonna help kids, but,

229
00:09:37,545 --> 00:09:39,144
[Speaker 1]
you know, we threw a lot of stuff

230
00:09:39,144 --> 00:09:42,745
[Speaker 1]
at the wall. Right? Ideas, we had people

231
00:09:42,745 --> 00:09:45,464
[Speaker 1]
come and giving us ideas. We had all

232
00:09:45,464 --> 00:09:49,084
[Speaker 1]
kinds of ideas, but nothing stuck great. But,

233
00:09:49,625 --> 00:09:52,280
[Speaker 1]
then one day the idea of, well, gosh,

234
00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,520
[Speaker 1]
it would make a great, you know, mechanic

235
00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,200
[Speaker 1]
school, a and p school. Yeah. And, so,

236
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,340
[Speaker 1]
it kinda slid down the wall pretty slow.

237
00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,800
[Speaker 1]
It didn't flat drop off the wall after

238
00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,120
[Speaker 1]
we we threw the idea there. So we

239
00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,945
[Speaker 1]
checked into it. And just as we were

240
00:10:08,945 --> 00:10:13,105
[Speaker 1]
getting ready, this was happening. The FAA changed

241
00:10:13,105 --> 00:10:16,965
[Speaker 1]
the rules on how A and P schools

242
00:10:17,105 --> 00:10:20,385
[Speaker 1]
work. Mhmm. They changed the rules because That

243
00:10:20,385 --> 00:10:21,125
[Speaker 0]
never happens.

244
00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,120
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Hardly ever happens. Right? Well, they changed

245
00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,360
[Speaker 1]
the rules because there's a huge shortage of

246
00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:31,580
[Speaker 1]
AMPs coming up. Over six hundred thousand, AMP

247
00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,220
[Speaker 1]
shortage in the next ten years or so,

248
00:10:34,835 --> 00:10:38,595
[Speaker 1]
worldwide. And, they realize that somebody's gotta speed

249
00:10:38,595 --> 00:10:40,675
[Speaker 1]
the process up a little bit. So they

250
00:10:40,675 --> 00:10:43,955
[Speaker 1]
changed it from a time based school. In

251
00:10:43,955 --> 00:10:46,595
[Speaker 1]
other words, taken at least two years of

252
00:10:46,595 --> 00:10:49,019
[Speaker 1]
AMP school to become an AMP to a

253
00:10:49,019 --> 00:10:50,000
[Speaker 1]
knowledge based.

254
00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:53,100
[Speaker 0]
And and for those not aviation savvy, AMP

255
00:10:53,100 --> 00:10:56,779
[Speaker 0]
is airframe and power print plant. Airframe and

256
00:10:56,779 --> 00:10:59,120
[Speaker 0]
power plant. See, English is optional today.

257
00:10:59,180 --> 00:11:01,820
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. And that means that they can work

258
00:11:01,820 --> 00:11:05,195
[Speaker 1]
on anything that's flies, and they're licensed by

259
00:11:05,495 --> 00:11:09,415
[Speaker 1]
the FAA, the United States government's agency that

260
00:11:09,415 --> 00:11:13,255
[Speaker 1]
takes care and governs all all things that

261
00:11:13,255 --> 00:11:13,654
[Speaker 1]
fly.

262
00:11:13,654 --> 00:11:16,635
[Speaker 0]
Right? Thick book that everybody has to have.

263
00:11:16,730 --> 00:11:20,810
[Speaker 1]
Right. Yep. All the FARS. Well, anyway, so,

264
00:11:21,290 --> 00:11:23,130
[Speaker 1]
we found out that it was now knowledge

265
00:11:23,130 --> 00:11:27,230
[Speaker 1]
based. And so I looked at, my partner

266
00:11:27,370 --> 00:11:29,930
[Speaker 1]
and he and said, you know, I'll bet

267
00:11:29,930 --> 00:11:32,225
[Speaker 1]
you that there's a lot of fluff in

268
00:11:32,225 --> 00:11:35,025
[Speaker 1]
those two year schools. And I bet we

269
00:11:35,025 --> 00:11:38,225
[Speaker 1]
can do it in one year. And so,

270
00:11:38,785 --> 00:11:41,505
[Speaker 1]
it just so happened that I was at

271
00:11:41,505 --> 00:11:44,385
[Speaker 1]
a conference, and then I sat next to

272
00:11:44,385 --> 00:11:47,200
[Speaker 1]
a gentleman who was clearly the smartest man

273
00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,920
[Speaker 1]
in the room. And it turns out that

274
00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:51,700
[Speaker 1]
he was the one who helped the FAA

275
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,560
[Speaker 1]
see that there was a different way that

276
00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:56,240
[Speaker 1]
it could be done that could speed up

277
00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,035
[Speaker 1]
how many mechanics get into the workforce so

278
00:11:59,035 --> 00:12:01,595
[Speaker 1]
they can start training and learning and fill

279
00:12:01,595 --> 00:12:06,315
[Speaker 1]
the gap that's gonna happen. And, I talked

280
00:12:06,315 --> 00:12:08,955
[Speaker 1]
to him and he said, yeah. Absolutely. You

281
00:12:08,955 --> 00:12:10,475
[Speaker 1]
could do it in a year and and

282
00:12:10,475 --> 00:12:14,390
[Speaker 1]
I'll help you. And, he had his PhD,

283
00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:21,010
[Speaker 1]
doctor Sean Galligan, and, he said that, you

284
00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:23,490
[Speaker 1]
can make it happen. And so we called

285
00:12:23,490 --> 00:12:25,170
[Speaker 1]
the FAA and said, hey. We wanna start

286
00:12:25,170 --> 00:12:27,825
[Speaker 1]
a school here, and we wanna make it.

287
00:12:27,825 --> 00:12:30,305
[Speaker 1]
So it's a twelve month program. And they

288
00:12:30,305 --> 00:12:32,065
[Speaker 1]
said, yeah. Well, that'll take a lot of

289
00:12:32,065 --> 00:12:34,885
[Speaker 1]
paperwork. Let's see how that goes. Yeah. And,

290
00:12:35,345 --> 00:12:37,505
[Speaker 0]
weren't you guys the first school?

291
00:12:37,505 --> 00:12:39,765
[Speaker 1]
We're one of the first. Yeah. That's right.

292
00:12:39,890 --> 00:12:42,130
[Speaker 1]
And doctor Galligan helped us to do it.

293
00:12:42,130 --> 00:12:45,590
[Speaker 1]
And the, he had everything, all the syllabuses,

294
00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:48,529
[Speaker 1]
all the he just had it all set

295
00:12:48,529 --> 00:12:50,770
[Speaker 1]
up. He just knew what it would take

296
00:12:50,770 --> 00:12:53,110
[Speaker 1]
and how long each class should take. And,

297
00:12:53,274 --> 00:12:55,595
[Speaker 1]
you know, it was amazing how smart he

298
00:12:55,595 --> 00:12:59,274
[Speaker 1]
was is. And, but about doing it. Next

299
00:12:59,274 --> 00:13:01,355
[Speaker 1]
thing you know, the FAA said, we can't

300
00:13:01,355 --> 00:13:03,855
[Speaker 1]
find any flaw in this. No kidding. You're

301
00:13:04,075 --> 00:13:07,760
[Speaker 1]
you're being tutored, by doctor Galligan. He's super

302
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:09,600
[Speaker 1]
smart, and he helped the law to get

303
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,760
[Speaker 1]
passed. And, next thing you know, we had

304
00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:15,840
[Speaker 1]
our license and we started. And we started

305
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,420
[Speaker 1]
with only three kids because the FAA didn't

306
00:13:18,735 --> 00:13:21,535
[Speaker 1]
approve us till November. But three months later

307
00:13:21,535 --> 00:13:25,154
[Speaker 1]
in January or three months six weeks later,

308
00:13:25,375 --> 00:13:27,775
[Speaker 1]
we started with three kids. That's as many

309
00:13:27,775 --> 00:13:30,895
[Speaker 1]
as we could recruit. And, we learned from

310
00:13:30,895 --> 00:13:32,975
[Speaker 1]
them and they learned from us, and they

311
00:13:32,975 --> 00:13:35,220
[Speaker 1]
graduated in a year. And it was pretty

312
00:13:35,220 --> 00:13:37,700
[Speaker 1]
darn exciting. We've gone from there. And so

313
00:13:37,700 --> 00:13:42,180
[Speaker 1]
far, we've had, twenty five about twenty six

314
00:13:42,180 --> 00:13:46,180
[Speaker 1]
kids graduate, in two years, and we got

315
00:13:46,180 --> 00:13:48,100
[Speaker 1]
twenty seven kids in the class right now.

316
00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:52,675
[Speaker 1]
And our next class, which starts August, of

317
00:13:52,675 --> 00:13:55,555
[Speaker 1]
twenty six, will have about forty five to

318
00:13:55,555 --> 00:13:57,235
[Speaker 1]
fifty kids in it. And that's where we're

319
00:13:57,235 --> 00:13:58,515
[Speaker 1]
gonna stop at fifty kids.

320
00:13:58,515 --> 00:14:00,115
[Speaker 0]
And you're gonna be doing two shifts on

321
00:14:00,115 --> 00:14:01,175
[Speaker 0]
that one, probably.

322
00:14:01,475 --> 00:14:03,154
[Speaker 1]
No. But we're gonna be able to do

323
00:14:03,154 --> 00:14:05,279
[Speaker 1]
two sides of the building. Mhmm. And we're

324
00:14:05,279 --> 00:14:07,600
[Speaker 1]
gonna hire two more instructors, so we'll have

325
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,800
[Speaker 1]
four instructors for fifty kids. Nice. And that's

326
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,840
[Speaker 1]
a great ratio of teaching. That's a unique

327
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:15,840
[Speaker 1]
ratio because we're teaching a lot. This is

328
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,375
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. You You know, you come to

329
00:14:17,375 --> 00:14:19,135
[Speaker 1]
our school and if you miss a day,

330
00:14:19,135 --> 00:14:21,295
[Speaker 1]
you gotta make it up at night or

331
00:14:21,295 --> 00:14:23,055
[Speaker 1]
you gotta you know, we have instructors that

332
00:14:23,055 --> 00:14:26,895
[Speaker 1]
come at night, adjunct instructors, and we have

333
00:14:26,895 --> 00:14:29,615
[Speaker 1]
adjunct instructors here on Saturdays, and the kids

334
00:14:29,615 --> 00:14:32,160
[Speaker 1]
have to make up time. Yeah. And it's

335
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:32,660
[Speaker 1]
intense.

336
00:14:32,959 --> 00:14:35,360
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. Imagine. You know, I went through, Air

337
00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,879
[Speaker 0]
Force maintenance school and, you know, that was

338
00:14:38,879 --> 00:14:40,639
[Speaker 0]
pretty intense, but we only did, like, four

339
00:14:40,639 --> 00:14:42,480
[Speaker 0]
hours a day or six hours a day

340
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,480
[Speaker 0]
or something. And, this sounds a little more

341
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:44,980
[Speaker 0]
intense.

342
00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,035
[Speaker 1]
Our kids get here at seven o'clock in

343
00:14:47,035 --> 00:14:49,595
[Speaker 1]
the morning, because we wanna teach them what

344
00:14:49,595 --> 00:14:51,275
[Speaker 1]
it's like to work a real shift.

345
00:14:51,275 --> 00:14:51,755
[Speaker 0]
Mhmm.

346
00:14:51,755 --> 00:14:53,755
[Speaker 1]
Shifts start at seven o'clock in the morning

347
00:14:53,755 --> 00:14:56,235
[Speaker 1]
at the major airlines and then and in

348
00:14:56,235 --> 00:14:59,615
[Speaker 1]
a lot of maintenance shops, even, general aviation,

349
00:14:59,675 --> 00:15:01,195
[Speaker 1]
and we wanna teach them how to get

350
00:15:01,195 --> 00:15:02,930
[Speaker 1]
up that early. Lot of them didn't do

351
00:15:02,930 --> 00:15:04,710
[Speaker 1]
that when they went to high school. Right?

352
00:15:05,250 --> 00:15:08,050
[Speaker 1]
And, so they start and they go from

353
00:15:08,050 --> 00:15:11,190
[Speaker 1]
seven to three, five days a week. And,

354
00:15:12,210 --> 00:15:14,975
[Speaker 1]
and it's all learning. You know, there's incredible

355
00:15:14,975 --> 00:15:16,894
[Speaker 1]
amount of book work. They gotta take their

356
00:15:16,894 --> 00:15:18,894
[Speaker 1]
FAA exams. We allow them to take it

357
00:15:18,894 --> 00:15:22,735
[Speaker 1]
as they go. Mhmm. They gotta take, three

358
00:15:22,735 --> 00:15:25,774
[Speaker 1]
written exams that they have to pass, and

359
00:15:25,774 --> 00:15:28,780
[Speaker 1]
they gotta take two oral and practical with

360
00:15:28,780 --> 00:15:32,380
[Speaker 1]
FAA examiners. Yeah. And, they all they can

361
00:15:32,380 --> 00:15:33,840
[Speaker 1]
do that all in a year.

362
00:15:34,140 --> 00:15:36,380
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. It's it's amazing. And, you know, this

363
00:15:36,380 --> 00:15:38,060
[Speaker 0]
hangar out here, you you know, they get

364
00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:40,985
[Speaker 0]
a little, on, you know, they get practical

365
00:15:41,205 --> 00:15:43,065
[Speaker 0]
experience working on stuff.

366
00:15:43,685 --> 00:15:49,125
[Speaker 1]
We can do so many different, projects out

367
00:15:49,125 --> 00:15:53,060
[Speaker 1]
there. They learn riveting. They learn, safety wiring.

368
00:15:53,060 --> 00:15:56,040
[Speaker 1]
They learn fiberglass. They learn electronics.

369
00:15:56,580 --> 00:15:58,840
[Speaker 0]
Safety wiring was always fun to me.

370
00:15:59,220 --> 00:16:01,700
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Well, believe it or not, funny you

371
00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:04,820
[Speaker 1]
bring that up. We've had many, many, many,

372
00:16:05,540 --> 00:16:10,435
[Speaker 1]
companies come in from, you know, Envoy to

373
00:16:10,975 --> 00:16:14,815
[Speaker 1]
SkyWest to Coletta. And the one thing they

374
00:16:14,815 --> 00:16:17,135
[Speaker 1]
say is make sure the kid can safety

375
00:16:17,135 --> 00:16:18,335
[Speaker 1]
wire. Because Now

376
00:16:18,335 --> 00:16:19,935
[Speaker 0]
do you make them do it manually, or

377
00:16:19,935 --> 00:16:21,635
[Speaker 0]
do you get the safety wire pliers?

378
00:16:21,775 --> 00:16:24,000
[Speaker 1]
They get both. They get to learn both.

379
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,480
[Speaker 1]
But, you know, but every kid that leaves

380
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,040
[Speaker 1]
here, because what we were told by the,

381
00:16:29,839 --> 00:16:31,600
[Speaker 1]
by the companies that are gonna hire them,

382
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:33,040
[Speaker 1]
they know how to safety wire.

383
00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:33,440
[Speaker 0]
Yeah.

384
00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,355
[Speaker 1]
And that's one of their classes that they

385
00:16:35,355 --> 00:16:37,514
[Speaker 1]
get graded on, and, it's important.

386
00:16:37,514 --> 00:16:40,014
[Speaker 0]
That and soldering were my two, bugaboos.

387
00:16:40,315 --> 00:16:44,795
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. I'm not I'm not sure how much

388
00:16:44,795 --> 00:16:46,394
[Speaker 1]
work they get on all that, but they

389
00:16:46,394 --> 00:16:48,495
[Speaker 1]
get they learn a little bit about everything.

390
00:16:48,555 --> 00:16:48,875
[Speaker 0]
Sure.

391
00:16:48,875 --> 00:16:51,350
[Speaker 1]
Because all we're doing in in reality, Mike,

392
00:16:51,350 --> 00:16:53,430
[Speaker 1]
is we're giving them a license to learn.

393
00:16:53,430 --> 00:16:54,790
[Speaker 0]
Yep. And that's the way it is in

394
00:16:54,790 --> 00:16:56,950
[Speaker 0]
all aviation. You know, you get your pilot's

395
00:16:56,950 --> 00:16:59,190
[Speaker 0]
license. That's a license to learn because you

396
00:16:59,190 --> 00:17:02,230
[Speaker 0]
don't know everything. And I'm sure with the

397
00:17:02,230 --> 00:17:04,150
[Speaker 0]
mechanics, it's the same thing. And, you know,

398
00:17:04,150 --> 00:17:07,345
[Speaker 0]
and with the mechanic, you know, you got

399
00:17:08,045 --> 00:17:10,865
[Speaker 0]
hundreds of airframes out there that are different.

400
00:17:11,965 --> 00:17:14,445
[Speaker 0]
And engine you know, even a Cessna one

401
00:17:14,445 --> 00:17:17,005
[Speaker 0]
seventy two could have, you know, any number

402
00:17:17,005 --> 00:17:19,245
[Speaker 0]
of engines in the thing. So that's a

403
00:17:19,245 --> 00:17:22,490
[Speaker 0]
different skill. And avionics, all the avionics have

404
00:17:22,610 --> 00:17:24,050
[Speaker 0]
and you probably don't teach a lot of

405
00:17:24,050 --> 00:17:24,550
[Speaker 0]
avionics.

406
00:17:25,170 --> 00:17:26,290
[Speaker 1]
We don't. No. Yeah.

407
00:17:26,290 --> 00:17:27,650
[Speaker 0]
Because that's kind of a subspecialty.

408
00:17:28,130 --> 00:17:30,050
[Speaker 1]
Working on it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I can

409
00:17:30,050 --> 00:17:31,730
[Speaker 1]
tell you one of the best stories that

410
00:17:31,730 --> 00:17:35,205
[Speaker 1]
I have about starting the school is, when

411
00:17:35,205 --> 00:17:42,005
[Speaker 1]
we were getting our, all the materials and

412
00:17:42,005 --> 00:17:45,065
[Speaker 1]
all the parts so the kids could have

413
00:17:45,285 --> 00:17:47,890
[Speaker 1]
laboratories and work on things. One of the

414
00:17:47,890 --> 00:17:50,450
[Speaker 1]
things the FAA said was, you know, you

415
00:17:50,450 --> 00:17:53,250
[Speaker 1]
need a jet engine. Mhmm. Well, you just

416
00:17:53,250 --> 00:17:54,290
[Speaker 1]
don't go out Yeah.

417
00:17:54,290 --> 00:17:55,429
[Speaker 0]
You just don't go out engine

418
00:17:55,809 --> 00:17:58,370
[Speaker 1]
with a budget. Right? They even the ones

419
00:17:58,370 --> 00:18:03,105
[Speaker 1]
that are run out cost maybe thousands and

420
00:18:03,105 --> 00:18:05,505
[Speaker 1]
thousands and tens of twenties and thirties and

421
00:18:05,505 --> 00:18:07,665
[Speaker 1]
forties and maybe a hundred thousand dollars just

422
00:18:07,665 --> 00:18:10,145
[Speaker 1]
to get one of those. Right? So I

423
00:18:10,145 --> 00:18:14,385
[Speaker 1]
I call over to, Coletta Airlines, over in

424
00:18:14,385 --> 00:18:17,940
[Speaker 1]
Oscoda, Michigan, and I said, you know, I

425
00:18:17,940 --> 00:18:19,940
[Speaker 1]
need a favor. I mean, we're we're gonna

426
00:18:19,940 --> 00:18:21,620
[Speaker 1]
be an A and P school. They're I'm

427
00:18:21,620 --> 00:18:24,100
[Speaker 1]
sure our kids will wanna stay in Michigan,

428
00:18:24,100 --> 00:18:26,920
[Speaker 1]
and you're in Michigan. But the FAA said,

429
00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:30,200
[Speaker 1]
you know, you've gotta have, a jet engine.

430
00:18:30,645 --> 00:18:32,405
[Speaker 1]
And they said, well, let us think about

431
00:18:32,405 --> 00:18:34,325
[Speaker 1]
that a little bit. And I think it

432
00:18:34,325 --> 00:18:35,925
[Speaker 1]
was the next day they called up and

433
00:18:35,925 --> 00:18:38,965
[Speaker 1]
said, we got a seven twenty seven here

434
00:18:39,045 --> 00:18:39,165
[Speaker 0]
Mhmm.

435
00:18:39,285 --> 00:18:41,365
[Speaker 1]
That we're gonna donate to you. It has

436
00:18:41,365 --> 00:18:44,105
[Speaker 1]
four jet engines. Mhmm. Three on the airplane

437
00:18:44,165 --> 00:18:46,420
[Speaker 1]
and the APU. Yeah. And,

438
00:18:46,900 --> 00:18:48,100
[Speaker 0]
So you got the whole airplane?

439
00:18:48,100 --> 00:18:49,860
[Speaker 1]
We got the whole airplane, and we'll let

440
00:18:49,860 --> 00:18:51,780
[Speaker 1]
you even keep it here for free. Oh,

441
00:18:51,780 --> 00:18:53,380
[Speaker 1]
nice. And you can bring the students over

442
00:18:53,380 --> 00:18:55,320
[Speaker 1]
here and do whatever you want to it

443
00:18:55,540 --> 00:18:56,760
[Speaker 1]
whenever you want.

444
00:18:56,820 --> 00:18:57,300
[Speaker 0]
Nice.

445
00:18:57,300 --> 00:18:59,780
[Speaker 1]
And, the next thing you know, they, we

446
00:18:59,780 --> 00:19:02,065
[Speaker 1]
said, well, they said we gotta have a

447
00:19:02,065 --> 00:19:03,664
[Speaker 1]
a jet engine in our building here. They

448
00:19:03,664 --> 00:19:05,985
[Speaker 1]
said, well, we'll take the number one engine

449
00:19:05,985 --> 00:19:08,385
[Speaker 1]
off and you get a trailer and come

450
00:19:08,385 --> 00:19:09,985
[Speaker 1]
over here. We'll put it on the trailer

451
00:19:09,985 --> 00:19:11,684
[Speaker 1]
for you and you can bring it home.

452
00:19:12,385 --> 00:19:14,304
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. I've seen it sitting out there. Sitting

453
00:19:14,304 --> 00:19:14,945
[Speaker 0]
out there.

454
00:19:14,945 --> 00:19:16,212
[Speaker 1]
And now it's got all the numbers on

455
00:19:16,212 --> 00:19:26,039
[Speaker 1]
it. Experience. And we take them to Oscoda

456
00:19:26,039 --> 00:19:27,480
[Speaker 1]
once or twice a year, and we go

457
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:29,174
[Speaker 1]
through the airplane. It's great fun.

458
00:19:29,174 --> 00:19:31,735
[Speaker 0]
And Oscoda, that's an old, Air Force Base.

459
00:19:31,735 --> 00:19:34,375
[Speaker 0]
Wertz Smith Air Force Base was, what it

460
00:19:34,375 --> 00:19:36,315
[Speaker 0]
was. It was a b fifty two base.

461
00:19:36,534 --> 00:19:38,215
[Speaker 0]
That's right. At least when they shut it

462
00:19:38,215 --> 00:19:41,575
[Speaker 0]
down. And now over there, there's lots of

463
00:19:41,575 --> 00:19:46,010
[Speaker 0]
maintenance activity going on. Coletta is there. What's

464
00:19:46,010 --> 00:19:48,410
[Speaker 0]
the other? Evergreen is at the other one.

465
00:19:48,410 --> 00:19:50,650
[Speaker 0]
Yep. That's there. Plus, there's a seven forty

466
00:19:50,650 --> 00:19:52,570
[Speaker 0]
seven engine shop over there.

467
00:19:52,570 --> 00:19:53,870
[Speaker 1]
Right. It's a It's a boneyard.

468
00:19:54,170 --> 00:19:55,930
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. And it's a boneyard. Lots of seven

469
00:19:55,930 --> 00:19:56,970
[Speaker 0]
forty sevens out there.

470
00:19:57,130 --> 00:20:00,305
[Speaker 1]
Seven forty sevens. We actually had a a

471
00:20:00,305 --> 00:20:03,025
[Speaker 1]
student. I call them kids because they're all

472
00:20:03,025 --> 00:20:06,785
[Speaker 1]
way younger than me. But, one of our

473
00:20:06,785 --> 00:20:11,760
[Speaker 1]
students wanted to be a deassembler. Mhmm. That's

474
00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:12,320
[Speaker 1]
a good

475
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:13,200
[Speaker 0]
place to do.

476
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:15,780
[Speaker 1]
And work and take airplanes apart.

477
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:16,320
[Speaker 0]
Yep.

478
00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,280
[Speaker 1]
And, we all thought that was pretty pretty

479
00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,760
[Speaker 1]
funny and pretty unique. Well, in the beginning,

480
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:23,520
[Speaker 1]
he thought, well, he really didn't have to

481
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:24,820
[Speaker 1]
learn how to fix them.

482
00:20:25,075 --> 00:20:26,915
[Speaker 0]
Mhmm. And he doesn't know all of us.

483
00:20:26,995 --> 00:20:29,715
[Speaker 1]
Studying too hard. And so we call I

484
00:20:30,035 --> 00:20:32,675
[Speaker 1]
yeah. One of our instructors called Colette and

485
00:20:32,675 --> 00:20:34,755
[Speaker 1]
said, you know, what's it gonna take? They

486
00:20:34,755 --> 00:20:36,275
[Speaker 1]
said, well, first, he's gotta get his A

487
00:20:36,275 --> 00:20:38,300
[Speaker 1]
and P license. He's also gotta learn how

488
00:20:38,300 --> 00:20:39,540
[Speaker 1]
to fix them because you gotta know how

489
00:20:39,540 --> 00:20:40,820
[Speaker 1]
to fix them in order to know how

490
00:20:40,820 --> 00:20:41,800
[Speaker 1]
to take them apart.

491
00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:43,460
[Speaker 0]
Right. Because, yeah, if you take a part

492
00:20:43,460 --> 00:20:45,640
[Speaker 0]
off of an airplane that's gonna be reused,

493
00:20:45,700 --> 00:20:48,260
[Speaker 0]
you gotta know how it works because if

494
00:20:48,260 --> 00:20:49,700
[Speaker 0]
you take it off in the wrong way,

495
00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:50,980
[Speaker 0]
it might not be any good.

496
00:20:50,980 --> 00:20:53,005
[Speaker 1]
Exactly. You know? So the next thing you

497
00:20:53,005 --> 00:20:56,145
[Speaker 1]
know, the kid really really engaged in class

498
00:20:56,285 --> 00:21:03,425
[Speaker 1]
and really became, a learning, smart, young person.

499
00:21:03,565 --> 00:21:03,885
[Speaker 0]
Yeah.

500
00:21:03,885 --> 00:21:09,940
[Speaker 1]
And, he graduated and, yeah, I haven't heard

501
00:21:09,940 --> 00:21:13,059
[Speaker 1]
yet if he got the job, but, he

502
00:21:13,059 --> 00:21:14,660
[Speaker 1]
could have changed. You know, a year can

503
00:21:14,820 --> 00:21:16,340
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. You just never know. You know?

504
00:21:16,340 --> 00:21:17,140
[Speaker 1]
Forever. And I

505
00:21:17,300 --> 00:21:18,740
[Speaker 0]
wanna go work on Cessnas or

506
00:21:18,740 --> 00:21:19,960
[Speaker 1]
something. Exactly.

507
00:21:20,180 --> 00:21:24,175
[Speaker 0]
Yep. Yeah. Because, yeah, as an air force,

508
00:21:24,175 --> 00:21:26,335
[Speaker 0]
you know, we'd have to go pull parts

509
00:21:26,335 --> 00:21:29,055
[Speaker 0]
off of either racks or, you know, even

510
00:21:29,055 --> 00:21:32,095
[Speaker 0]
go to the boneyard in Tucson and pull

511
00:21:32,095 --> 00:21:33,855
[Speaker 0]
something, you know, and and, yeah, I don't

512
00:21:33,855 --> 00:21:37,080
[Speaker 0]
know what you were doing. Just, plain and

513
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,920
[Speaker 0]
simple. Yeah. And, so so you've had, you

514
00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:45,400
[Speaker 0]
said twenty seven, now that have graduated Yep.

515
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,960
[Speaker 0]
And pretty good, job placement. I'm sure.

516
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,460
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. They all get jobs. Yeah. Yeah. It's

517
00:21:50,644 --> 00:21:54,085
[Speaker 1]
it's a hundred percent job placement. They're gonna

518
00:21:54,085 --> 00:21:57,125
[Speaker 1]
get two, three, four offers. We've got kids

519
00:21:57,125 --> 00:22:01,225
[Speaker 1]
in, Marquette, Michigan working for Envoy. We've got

520
00:22:01,365 --> 00:22:08,500
[Speaker 1]
kids, down at, oh, boy, we're in Chicago

521
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,400
[Speaker 1]
at SkyWest. We've got kids, working down in

522
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,080
[Speaker 1]
Battle Creek at one of the MROs. We've

523
00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,735
[Speaker 1]
got kids in Salt Lake City. They're all

524
00:22:18,735 --> 00:22:21,375
[Speaker 1]
over. We've got one student that, you know,

525
00:22:21,375 --> 00:22:24,655
[Speaker 1]
was, bound determined to work for, Delta, which

526
00:22:24,655 --> 00:22:28,815
[Speaker 1]
has an extremely difficult, you know, application process.

527
00:22:28,815 --> 00:22:30,175
[Speaker 0]
They're top notch. They're

528
00:22:30,175 --> 00:22:33,419
[Speaker 1]
very good. And, and she wants to work

529
00:22:33,419 --> 00:22:36,460
[Speaker 1]
in Tokyo. And so, you know, we've got,

530
00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:40,460
[Speaker 1]
job jobs available for kids where they can

531
00:22:40,460 --> 00:22:43,100
[Speaker 1]
work six months in Alaska and six months

532
00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:43,840
[Speaker 1]
in Honolulu.

533
00:22:44,220 --> 00:22:44,539
[Speaker 0]
Yeah.

534
00:22:44,539 --> 00:22:47,865
[Speaker 1]
You know, I mean, we've got jobs where

535
00:22:47,865 --> 00:22:49,405
[Speaker 1]
they can fly on airplanes.

536
00:22:49,465 --> 00:22:50,985
[Speaker 0]
It's hard to find a mechanic. You know,

537
00:22:50,985 --> 00:22:53,705
[Speaker 0]
if you own an airplane yourself and you,

538
00:22:53,705 --> 00:22:56,105
[Speaker 0]
you know, need something done, there's not a

539
00:22:56,105 --> 00:22:58,365
[Speaker 0]
ton of places you can take your airplane,

540
00:22:58,519 --> 00:23:00,759
[Speaker 0]
you know? Exactly. You know, there's a few

541
00:23:00,759 --> 00:23:02,519
[Speaker 0]
around, but, and, you know, and a lot

542
00:23:02,519 --> 00:23:05,639
[Speaker 0]
of those guys are getting older, so they're

543
00:23:05,639 --> 00:23:06,779
[Speaker 0]
gonna need new blood.

544
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,840
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. All the, AMPs from, World War Two

545
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,885
[Speaker 1]
are, you know, they're not working anymore. And

546
00:23:13,945 --> 00:23:16,345
[Speaker 1]
so now you got the next generation AMPs

547
00:23:16,345 --> 00:23:19,785
[Speaker 1]
from the military. And and, you know, now

548
00:23:19,785 --> 00:23:21,545
[Speaker 1]
we're having to produce our own. And there's

549
00:23:21,545 --> 00:23:24,345
[Speaker 1]
about, I don't know, one hundred and fifty

550
00:23:24,345 --> 00:23:28,140
[Speaker 1]
schools around the country is all, that are

551
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,400
[Speaker 1]
doing this and, training kids. Some of the

552
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,960
[Speaker 1]
programs most of the programs are still two

553
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,840
[Speaker 1]
year programs. So that's what makes our program

554
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:40,155
[Speaker 1]
unique. We're a one year program and, you

555
00:23:40,155 --> 00:23:40,315
[Speaker 1]
know

556
00:23:40,395 --> 00:23:42,075
[Speaker 0]
all done at one, you know, in one

557
00:23:42,075 --> 00:23:42,895
[Speaker 0]
fell swoop.

558
00:23:43,035 --> 00:23:44,075
[Speaker 1]
One fell swoop.

559
00:23:44,075 --> 00:23:45,675
[Speaker 0]
You know, Traverse City is a nice place

560
00:23:45,675 --> 00:23:48,315
[Speaker 0]
to be most of the year. I think

561
00:23:48,315 --> 00:23:49,675
[Speaker 1]
it's a good place to be even in

562
00:23:49,675 --> 00:23:50,075
[Speaker 1]
the winter.

563
00:23:50,075 --> 00:23:50,875
[Speaker 0]
Oh, yeah. For sure.

564
00:23:50,875 --> 00:23:53,515
[Speaker 1]
We, the kids that come here that don't

565
00:23:53,515 --> 00:23:57,620
[Speaker 1]
already live here, we have an apartment complex

566
00:23:57,620 --> 00:24:01,300
[Speaker 1]
that, that we put, we turn into a

567
00:24:01,300 --> 00:24:03,540
[Speaker 1]
dorm room and, you know, they've got a

568
00:24:03,540 --> 00:24:07,000
[Speaker 1]
pool. They've got an exercise room. I mean,

569
00:24:07,059 --> 00:24:09,480
[Speaker 0]
it's pretty challenging. Around here to find housing.

570
00:24:09,540 --> 00:24:11,065
[Speaker 1]
Right. Well, there's a lot of them going

571
00:24:11,065 --> 00:24:12,825
[Speaker 1]
up right now, so it's a little easier

572
00:24:12,825 --> 00:24:14,265
[Speaker 1]
than it used to be a couple years

573
00:24:14,265 --> 00:24:14,765
[Speaker 1]
ago.

574
00:24:14,825 --> 00:24:17,485
[Speaker 0]
For sure. Yeah. Apartments everywhere.

575
00:24:17,784 --> 00:24:19,725
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Going up. We're very blessed.

576
00:24:19,784 --> 00:24:20,024
[Speaker 0]
But,

577
00:24:20,265 --> 00:24:22,184
[Speaker 1]
but we'll put four kids in a, you

578
00:24:22,184 --> 00:24:25,160
[Speaker 1]
know, two bedroom apartment to a bunk bed,

579
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,760
[Speaker 1]
and it's unbelievably reasonable for the students. And,

580
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,800
[Speaker 1]
and they're loving it. Yeah. Yeah. We even

581
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,520
[Speaker 1]
provide maid service. We know that putting four

582
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,160
[Speaker 1]
boys in a room without a little maid

583
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,565
[Speaker 1]
service on occasion is probably not gonna be

584
00:24:39,565 --> 00:24:40,385
[Speaker 1]
a good experience.

585
00:24:40,525 --> 00:24:44,205
[Speaker 0]
I'm guessing the girls aren't much better. Probably

586
00:24:44,205 --> 00:24:44,705
[Speaker 0]
right.

587
00:24:45,245 --> 00:24:45,745
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.

588
00:24:46,045 --> 00:24:48,685
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. And, you know, so so yeah. You

589
00:24:48,685 --> 00:24:50,925
[Speaker 0]
guys are you start classes, what, twice a

590
00:24:50,925 --> 00:24:51,425
[Speaker 0]
year?

591
00:24:51,679 --> 00:24:54,160
[Speaker 1]
We used to, but now we're down to

592
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,500
[Speaker 1]
once a year. We're looking at other options.

593
00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,440
[Speaker 1]
But most kids think that school starts, you

594
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,059
[Speaker 1]
know, in August or September.

595
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:04,160
[Speaker 0]
Right. Makes

596
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,419
[Speaker 1]
sense. Spend their whole year. And to start

597
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,635
[Speaker 1]
a a a new class in January takes

598
00:25:10,635 --> 00:25:14,075
[Speaker 1]
a lot of mental strength to to get

599
00:25:14,075 --> 00:25:15,375
[Speaker 1]
your brain around that.

600
00:25:15,435 --> 00:25:18,075
[Speaker 0]
Sure. Yeah. So the Air Force was funny.

601
00:25:18,075 --> 00:25:20,250
[Speaker 0]
They just started it whenever they needed to.

602
00:25:20,330 --> 00:25:22,090
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Well, that's because they can control you

603
00:25:22,090 --> 00:25:22,730
[Speaker 1]
a lot better.

604
00:25:22,730 --> 00:25:26,090
[Speaker 0]
Oh, yeah. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing nothing

605
00:25:26,090 --> 00:25:28,810
[Speaker 0]
like being in a cornfield in Illinois marching

606
00:25:28,810 --> 00:25:30,670
[Speaker 0]
to to class. Exactly.

607
00:25:30,810 --> 00:25:32,750
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. We don't do that. Right?

608
00:25:34,095 --> 00:25:35,775
[Speaker 0]
So a lot of other things you got

609
00:25:35,775 --> 00:25:38,255
[Speaker 0]
going on here in this building. I know,

610
00:25:38,495 --> 00:25:43,055
[Speaker 0]
you allow, the EAA, a local group to

611
00:25:43,055 --> 00:25:46,735
[Speaker 0]
use the building somewhat and, also civil air

612
00:25:46,735 --> 00:25:47,235
[Speaker 0]
patrol.

613
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,180
[Speaker 1]
Right. When I bought the building, I wanted

614
00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,880
[Speaker 1]
this to be the center of aviation for

615
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,160
[Speaker 1]
our airport. Because once, you know, nine eleven

616
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,560
[Speaker 1]
happened, you know, you just can't go out

617
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,520
[Speaker 1]
and walk up to an airplane and say

618
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,924
[Speaker 1]
hi to the pilot and and sit in

619
00:26:05,705 --> 00:26:07,965
[Speaker 1]
the side of the runway and watch airplanes

620
00:26:08,105 --> 00:26:10,365
[Speaker 1]
take off. You know, they put up fences.

621
00:26:10,505 --> 00:26:13,785
[Speaker 1]
They gave you badges. You know, it made

622
00:26:13,785 --> 00:26:15,485
[Speaker 1]
it very difficult for people

623
00:26:15,865 --> 00:26:18,025
[Speaker 0]
to congregate. Can't hang out at the airport

624
00:26:18,025 --> 00:26:19,919
[Speaker 0]
here. No. Now, you know, know, some other

625
00:26:19,919 --> 00:26:20,720
[Speaker 0]
airports you can, but

626
00:26:20,799 --> 00:26:21,080
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.

627
00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,279
[Speaker 0]
You know, like Antrim, I I you know,

628
00:26:23,279 --> 00:26:24,799
[Speaker 0]
I've been up there a few times. You

629
00:26:24,799 --> 00:26:26,240
[Speaker 0]
can go hang out in the in the

630
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:28,399
[Speaker 0]
building there, and there's always people around and

631
00:26:28,399 --> 00:26:30,720
[Speaker 0]
it's kinda fun. But, yeah, this is kinda

632
00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,145
[Speaker 0]
what this is becoming here. You know, I've

633
00:26:34,145 --> 00:26:36,065
[Speaker 0]
I've joked with people that I I've gotta

634
00:26:36,065 --> 00:26:38,305
[Speaker 0]
go to coffee klatch, you know? Yeah. And

635
00:26:38,305 --> 00:26:40,945
[Speaker 0]
we come over here Saturday mornings and drink

636
00:26:40,945 --> 00:26:43,585
[Speaker 0]
coffee, eat donuts, and, you know, just shoot

637
00:26:43,585 --> 00:26:44,145
[Speaker 0]
the ball.

638
00:26:44,145 --> 00:26:46,465
[Speaker 1]
Just like you used to thirty years ago

639
00:26:46,465 --> 00:26:48,960
[Speaker 1]
when you had the old building, for general

640
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:50,000
[Speaker 1]
aviation. Right?

641
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:50,720
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. Yeah.

642
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,240
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. So that's one of the things that,

643
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,960
[Speaker 1]
my partner understood in the air when we

644
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,300
[Speaker 1]
bought this building is that we were gonna

645
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,860
[Speaker 1]
give, the EAA and the CAP, free office,

646
00:27:05,174 --> 00:27:10,315
[Speaker 1]
and, and rooms to, any events on Mondays

647
00:27:10,615 --> 00:27:13,735
[Speaker 1]
and Thursday nights and other days of the

648
00:27:13,735 --> 00:27:16,570
[Speaker 1]
week, Saturdays when we're not in school. Yeah.

649
00:27:16,570 --> 00:27:18,010
[Speaker 1]
And, it works great.

650
00:27:18,010 --> 00:27:19,770
[Speaker 0]
And we got quite the SIM room here

651
00:27:19,770 --> 00:27:22,250
[Speaker 0]
now too. What is there? Four or five,

652
00:27:22,250 --> 00:27:23,530
[Speaker 0]
six of them in that room?

653
00:27:23,530 --> 00:27:26,090
[Speaker 1]
Six SIMs and even one moving SIM. Yeah.

654
00:27:26,090 --> 00:27:27,290
[Speaker 1]
And that's one of the things we do

655
00:27:27,290 --> 00:27:29,275
[Speaker 1]
at our school too is we teach all

656
00:27:29,275 --> 00:27:33,355
[Speaker 1]
the prospective AMP students, you know, how to

657
00:27:33,355 --> 00:27:35,435
[Speaker 1]
fly an airplane on a SIM. Yeah. So

658
00:27:35,435 --> 00:27:36,895
[Speaker 1]
they have a general idea.

659
00:27:37,035 --> 00:27:39,055
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. It's always a good thing. You know,

660
00:27:39,435 --> 00:27:41,835
[Speaker 0]
a lot of the AMPs I know, also

661
00:27:41,835 --> 00:27:44,160
[Speaker 0]
are pilots. So that's that's a good thing,

662
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:45,840
[Speaker 0]
but not all of them. Oh. You know?

663
00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:47,280
[Speaker 0]
And some of them, you know, I don't

664
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,780
[Speaker 0]
like flying, but I like airplanes. Yeah.

665
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,760
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Being on, you know, around airplanes is

666
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:54,799
[Speaker 1]
pretty sexy. Right?

667
00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:55,520
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. You know?

668
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,495
[Speaker 1]
And, I mean, airplanes are really cool. And,

669
00:27:58,895 --> 00:28:00,415
[Speaker 1]
to know how to fix them or fly

670
00:28:00,415 --> 00:28:03,955
[Speaker 1]
them is, you know, not not for everybody.

671
00:28:04,015 --> 00:28:06,095
[Speaker 1]
And, it's pretty cool if you're one of

672
00:28:06,095 --> 00:28:07,375
[Speaker 1]
those people that are.

673
00:28:07,375 --> 00:28:11,455
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. It's, it's definitely, it's a muscle memory

674
00:28:11,455 --> 00:28:14,460
[Speaker 0]
thing because, you know, it's that was my

675
00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:16,780
[Speaker 0]
trouble in training is, you know, just gaining

676
00:28:16,780 --> 00:28:19,020
[Speaker 0]
the muscle memory. Once once you do that

677
00:28:19,020 --> 00:28:21,660
[Speaker 0]
though, you can jump into a different airplane

678
00:28:21,660 --> 00:28:24,000
[Speaker 0]
and it's everything's similar.

679
00:28:24,300 --> 00:28:24,800
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.

680
00:28:24,860 --> 00:28:25,420
[Speaker 0]
You know?

681
00:28:25,420 --> 00:28:28,325
[Speaker 1]
I'm a pilot also. I'm I have no

682
00:28:28,325 --> 00:28:32,565
[Speaker 1]
tools. Why I picked, the mechanic school, the

683
00:28:32,565 --> 00:28:34,645
[Speaker 1]
AMP school, I have no clue. All I

684
00:28:34,645 --> 00:28:37,765
[Speaker 1]
know is they made it my life so

685
00:28:37,765 --> 00:28:42,480
[Speaker 1]
much better keeping my airplanes flyable and safe

686
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:45,520
[Speaker 1]
with my family that I always appreciated and

687
00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,880
[Speaker 1]
admired them. Right. And, that's why I thought,

688
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:50,560
[Speaker 1]
wow, this would be great because I don't

689
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,080
[Speaker 1]
know a thing about it, but wouldn't it

690
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,540
[Speaker 1]
be cool to have more around?

691
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,325
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. For sure. And I've seen your airplane

692
00:28:56,325 --> 00:28:58,805
[Speaker 0]
in the hangar here getting this done on

693
00:28:58,805 --> 00:29:01,225
[Speaker 0]
it, and that's kind of a handy bonus.

694
00:29:01,525 --> 00:29:05,205
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. So yeah. So the students can't work

695
00:29:05,205 --> 00:29:08,005
[Speaker 1]
on an airplane that's flyable Mhmm. But they

696
00:29:08,005 --> 00:29:09,205
[Speaker 1]
can observe work.

697
00:29:09,205 --> 00:29:09,705
[Speaker 0]
Sure.

698
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,200
[Speaker 1]
So I'll make it so that the A

699
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:16,520
[Speaker 1]
and P who has, inspector's license, IA, he

700
00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,000
[Speaker 1]
can do my annual in the hangar, and

701
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:20,380
[Speaker 1]
the students can watch it.

702
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:20,940
[Speaker 0]
Yep.

703
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,934
[Speaker 1]
And, invaluable. Right? And, you know, they can

704
00:29:24,934 --> 00:29:27,515
[Speaker 1]
watch all the plates get taken off and

705
00:29:27,735 --> 00:29:30,215
[Speaker 1]
do a lot of things and, stick their

706
00:29:30,215 --> 00:29:32,715
[Speaker 0]
head in. They do have a apprentice program

707
00:29:32,775 --> 00:29:34,315
[Speaker 0]
of some sort, don't they?

708
00:29:34,455 --> 00:29:36,215
[Speaker 1]
They do. It's like a three year program

709
00:29:36,455 --> 00:29:39,470
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Where you can work at a at

710
00:29:39,470 --> 00:29:40,190
[Speaker 1]
an eight at,

711
00:29:40,669 --> 00:29:41,389
[Speaker 0]
In a shop.

712
00:29:41,470 --> 00:29:45,070
[Speaker 1]
In a shop somewhere. And, but holy mackerel,

713
00:29:45,070 --> 00:29:48,429
[Speaker 1]
it's not great wages. And, three years is

714
00:29:48,429 --> 00:29:49,950
[Speaker 1]
a long time in a life when you

715
00:29:49,950 --> 00:29:51,389
[Speaker 1]
can come to a school and in one

716
00:29:51,389 --> 00:29:51,549
[Speaker 1]
year

717
00:29:51,630 --> 00:29:52,755
[Speaker 0]
You're getting knocked out.

718
00:29:52,835 --> 00:29:54,595
[Speaker 1]
Get it knocked out and be making really

719
00:29:54,595 --> 00:29:57,875
[Speaker 1]
good wages. Our kids are making, you know,

720
00:29:57,875 --> 00:30:02,535
[Speaker 1]
upper twenties and into the thirties really rapidly.

721
00:30:03,235 --> 00:30:06,130
[Speaker 1]
And, most of them will be making in

722
00:30:06,130 --> 00:30:07,669
[Speaker 1]
five years into the forties.

723
00:30:07,890 --> 00:30:08,290
[Speaker 0]
Mhmm.

724
00:30:08,290 --> 00:30:12,530
[Speaker 1]
Forty dollar an hour. It's it's a, you

725
00:30:12,530 --> 00:30:15,490
[Speaker 1]
know, life changing event and making enough money

726
00:30:15,490 --> 00:30:17,745
[Speaker 1]
to to have a good middle class living.

727
00:30:17,905 --> 00:30:19,585
[Speaker 0]
The only reason I never went for the

728
00:30:19,585 --> 00:30:21,825
[Speaker 0]
AMP was the the length of the time

729
00:30:21,825 --> 00:30:23,985
[Speaker 0]
you had to go to school, you know,

730
00:30:23,985 --> 00:30:26,145
[Speaker 0]
and what we did in the Air Force

731
00:30:26,145 --> 00:30:27,045
[Speaker 0]
didn't count.

732
00:30:27,345 --> 00:30:27,845
[Speaker 1]
Right.

733
00:30:27,985 --> 00:30:30,065
[Speaker 0]
You know, so that was, you know, if

734
00:30:30,065 --> 00:30:31,665
[Speaker 0]
if I could have just got out and

735
00:30:31,665 --> 00:30:33,684
[Speaker 0]
did, I'd probably be doing that right now.

736
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:35,880
[Speaker 1]
Sure. But one of the things we're starting

737
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,720
[Speaker 1]
here soon, not exactly sure when, is we're

738
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,240
[Speaker 1]
gonna do a special program for the veterans

739
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,100
[Speaker 1]
Mhmm. That get out of the service. And

740
00:30:45,559 --> 00:30:49,394
[Speaker 1]
for some reason, the FAA doesn't acknowledge that

741
00:30:49,394 --> 00:30:53,414
[Speaker 1]
they probably are AMPs in the service. But

742
00:30:53,635 --> 00:30:55,794
[Speaker 1]
there's a two week program that we could

743
00:30:55,794 --> 00:30:57,715
[Speaker 1]
do for him that would teach him how

744
00:30:57,715 --> 00:31:01,540
[Speaker 1]
to pass the FAA test. And, and we're

745
00:31:01,540 --> 00:31:04,060
[Speaker 1]
gonna do that, as soon as we can.

746
00:31:04,260 --> 00:31:05,940
[Speaker 0]
That's changed since I got I got out

747
00:31:05,940 --> 00:31:08,180
[Speaker 0]
thirty years ago. So Yeah. I have no

748
00:31:08,180 --> 00:31:09,940
[Speaker 0]
idea how that works now.

749
00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:11,780
[Speaker 1]
I have no idea how it works either,

750
00:31:11,780 --> 00:31:15,434
[Speaker 1]
but all I know is that, two of

751
00:31:15,434 --> 00:31:18,575
[Speaker 1]
our three instructors right now are retired military,

752
00:31:18,794 --> 00:31:21,595
[Speaker 1]
and they wanna help their, you know, their

753
00:31:21,595 --> 00:31:26,154
[Speaker 1]
fellow military friends get their license. And, so

754
00:31:26,154 --> 00:31:28,475
[Speaker 1]
we're gonna start one of those programs soon.

755
00:31:28,475 --> 00:31:30,940
[Speaker 0]
That'd be great. You know, especially, you know,

756
00:31:30,940 --> 00:31:32,779
[Speaker 0]
we've got the Coast Guard base here, and

757
00:31:32,779 --> 00:31:34,460
[Speaker 0]
there's a lot of guys over there that

758
00:31:34,460 --> 00:31:36,860
[Speaker 0]
wanna come back here when they retire. Yep.

759
00:31:36,860 --> 00:31:38,620
[Speaker 0]
Maybe that'd be perfect for them.

760
00:31:38,620 --> 00:31:40,860
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. We have one Coast Guard retiree. We

761
00:31:40,860 --> 00:31:44,265
[Speaker 1]
have one Air Force retiree. We have, one

762
00:31:44,265 --> 00:31:48,685
[Speaker 1]
instructor that, she worked for two major airlines

763
00:31:48,745 --> 00:31:50,845
[Speaker 1]
in her life and then a major airline

764
00:31:51,465 --> 00:31:54,665
[Speaker 1]
manufacturer. And, so we've got lots of different

765
00:31:54,665 --> 00:31:55,545
[Speaker 1]
experiences here.

766
00:31:55,545 --> 00:31:57,625
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. And they're all here in little Traverse

767
00:31:57,625 --> 00:31:59,725
[Speaker 0]
City. Yeah. Little Traverse City.

768
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,920
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. And that's what makes our school special

769
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,000
[Speaker 1]
too, is that we're a smaller school. There

770
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,420
[Speaker 1]
are lots of really big schools out there,

771
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,940
[Speaker 1]
but, you know, our main goal is everyone

772
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,055
[Speaker 1]
becomes an A and P. It's not just

773
00:32:13,055 --> 00:32:16,195
[Speaker 1]
getting through the school. You're gonna get out

774
00:32:16,255 --> 00:32:19,295
[Speaker 1]
and, you know, get your licenses. That's really

775
00:32:19,295 --> 00:32:20,895
[Speaker 1]
important to us. We don't give up on

776
00:32:20,895 --> 00:32:22,815
[Speaker 1]
you if you don't get it done exactly

777
00:32:22,815 --> 00:32:24,780
[Speaker 1]
by the last day of school. You can

778
00:32:24,780 --> 00:32:26,860
[Speaker 1]
come back as often as you need to

779
00:32:26,860 --> 00:32:30,620
[Speaker 1]
practice, to study, to go over what maybe

780
00:32:30,620 --> 00:32:33,200
[Speaker 1]
isn't perfectly clear to you. We've always got

781
00:32:33,340 --> 00:32:36,620
[Speaker 1]
instructors available for you on, certain nights of

782
00:32:36,620 --> 00:32:40,575
[Speaker 1]
the week and on weekends. And, that's really

783
00:32:40,575 --> 00:32:43,135
[Speaker 1]
important to us. Right. Our goal is to

784
00:32:43,135 --> 00:32:46,015
[Speaker 1]
have one hundred percent of the kids graduate

785
00:32:46,015 --> 00:32:48,335
[Speaker 1]
from our school and become MPs.

786
00:32:48,335 --> 00:32:50,175
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. Yeah. Because a lot of, you know,

787
00:32:50,175 --> 00:32:52,575
[Speaker 0]
like nursing school, for instance, they don't care

788
00:32:52,575 --> 00:32:55,289
[Speaker 0]
whether you ever, get the license. They just

789
00:32:55,289 --> 00:32:56,909
[Speaker 0]
want you to get through the school.

790
00:32:57,049 --> 00:32:59,870
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. That's not us. Yeah. We are

791
00:33:00,409 --> 00:33:03,529
[Speaker 1]
doing everything humanly possible to we even make

792
00:33:03,529 --> 00:33:06,009
[Speaker 1]
it so that we pay included in your

793
00:33:06,009 --> 00:33:09,995
[Speaker 1]
tuition is the, fee to take the tests.

794
00:33:10,054 --> 00:33:10,794
[Speaker 0]
Oh, nice.

795
00:33:10,855 --> 00:33:13,174
[Speaker 1]
And that's thousands of dollars that a lot

796
00:33:13,174 --> 00:33:15,595
[Speaker 1]
of these kids don't have, but that's included.

797
00:33:15,815 --> 00:33:17,174
[Speaker 1]
We even pay for tools.

798
00:33:17,174 --> 00:33:19,255
[Speaker 0]
That's similar to a check ride with a

799
00:33:19,255 --> 00:33:21,015
[Speaker 0]
DPE. You know, you have to pay them

800
00:33:21,015 --> 00:33:21,255
[Speaker 0]
to

801
00:33:21,559 --> 00:33:23,820
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. What's a check ride with a DPE

802
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:24,620
[Speaker 1]
cost nowadays?

803
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:26,540
[Speaker 0]
I paid eight hundred.

804
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:30,679
[Speaker 1]
Thank you. Yeah. So a lot of these

805
00:33:30,679 --> 00:33:33,160
[Speaker 1]
students don't have eight hundred dollars, so we

806
00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:37,325
[Speaker 1]
include it in their tuition. And, so that

807
00:33:37,325 --> 00:33:39,164
[Speaker 1]
when they're ready to do it, they come

808
00:33:39,164 --> 00:33:41,325
[Speaker 1]
to us, tell them they're ready. We write

809
00:33:41,325 --> 00:33:44,065
[Speaker 1]
them a check. It's simple as that. Nice.

810
00:33:44,365 --> 00:33:45,745
[Speaker 1]
They can go take the test.

811
00:33:45,885 --> 00:33:47,325
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. And then you get that all done.

812
00:33:47,325 --> 00:33:49,585
[Speaker 0]
They got the the nice piece of plastic

813
00:33:49,710 --> 00:33:51,230
[Speaker 0]
or paper. I think it's the same as

814
00:33:51,230 --> 00:33:53,470
[Speaker 0]
a pilot's license, isn't it? Yeah. It's a

815
00:33:53,470 --> 00:33:55,090
[Speaker 0]
plastic. Yeah.

816
00:33:55,230 --> 00:33:58,909
[Speaker 1]
It's it's pretty darn special. Yeah. And, and,

817
00:33:58,909 --> 00:34:02,445
[Speaker 1]
yeah, it's really important that we're a little

818
00:34:02,445 --> 00:34:05,205
[Speaker 1]
unique that way and that we really, really,

819
00:34:05,205 --> 00:34:08,225
[Speaker 1]
really, really push hard to make sure everyone,

820
00:34:09,885 --> 00:34:10,365
[Speaker 0]
you know, if you're

821
00:34:10,365 --> 00:34:11,245
[Speaker 1]
gonna their goal.

822
00:34:11,405 --> 00:34:13,405
[Speaker 0]
Spend all that time doing it. And even

823
00:34:13,405 --> 00:34:16,125
[Speaker 0]
though it's only a year, you wanna make

824
00:34:16,125 --> 00:34:19,170
[Speaker 0]
sure it finishes. You know? And that's the

825
00:34:19,170 --> 00:34:20,530
[Speaker 0]
thing. You know? And it I mean, you

826
00:34:20,530 --> 00:34:22,050
[Speaker 0]
you probably don't have a lot of people

827
00:34:22,050 --> 00:34:23,330
[Speaker 0]
dropping out of it, do you?

828
00:34:23,330 --> 00:34:23,890
[Speaker 1]
We don't.

829
00:34:23,890 --> 00:34:24,850
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. I was gonna say

830
00:34:25,090 --> 00:34:28,530
[Speaker 1]
Dropout rate is virtually zero. Yeah. We had

831
00:34:28,530 --> 00:34:35,785
[Speaker 1]
one young man who dropped out. We found

832
00:34:35,785 --> 00:34:37,805
[Speaker 1]
out that, you know, he had some prior

833
00:34:38,665 --> 00:34:41,865
[Speaker 1]
challenges with the law. Mhmm. And we knew

834
00:34:41,865 --> 00:34:45,065
[Speaker 1]
that because of that, most employers wouldn't hire

835
00:34:45,065 --> 00:34:45,450
[Speaker 1]
him.

836
00:34:45,530 --> 00:34:46,010
[Speaker 0]
Right.

837
00:34:46,010 --> 00:34:48,089
[Speaker 1]
And so we helped him to realize that

838
00:34:48,089 --> 00:34:50,730
[Speaker 1]
maybe it wasn't in his best interest. Yeah.

839
00:34:50,730 --> 00:34:53,210
[Speaker 1]
And so, you know, we're not doing this

840
00:34:53,210 --> 00:34:55,630
[Speaker 1]
just to, you know, get their money to,

841
00:34:55,930 --> 00:34:58,170
[Speaker 1]
you know, for tuition. If we don't think

842
00:34:58,170 --> 00:35:01,075
[Speaker 1]
they're gonna become AMPs, we're gonna help them

843
00:35:01,075 --> 00:35:02,835
[Speaker 1]
to find something else that they'll be better

844
00:35:02,835 --> 00:35:03,155
[Speaker 1]
at.

845
00:35:03,155 --> 00:35:03,655
[Speaker 0]
Mhmm.

846
00:35:03,715 --> 00:35:04,115
[Speaker 1]
Right?

847
00:35:04,115 --> 00:35:06,195
[Speaker 0]
Sure. And, you know, that's that's the thing.

848
00:35:06,195 --> 00:35:09,015
[Speaker 0]
It's more of a you're you know, obviously,

849
00:35:09,155 --> 00:35:11,315
[Speaker 0]
it's a for profit thing.

850
00:35:11,315 --> 00:35:12,865
[Speaker 1]
Oh, we're actually a nonprofit.

851
00:35:13,010 --> 00:35:15,329
[Speaker 0]
Oh, you are a nonprofit. Okay. Then that's

852
00:35:15,329 --> 00:35:15,970
[Speaker 0]
even better.

853
00:35:15,970 --> 00:35:17,569
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. That's why we were able to get

854
00:35:17,569 --> 00:35:19,650
[Speaker 1]
that seven twenty seven donated to us.

855
00:35:19,650 --> 00:35:20,530
[Speaker 0]
Oh, very good.

856
00:35:20,609 --> 00:35:21,569
[Speaker 1]
Took a tax write off.

857
00:35:21,569 --> 00:35:23,010
[Speaker 0]
Oh, I'm sure they did. What what is

858
00:35:23,010 --> 00:35:24,609
[Speaker 0]
the they did. I wonder what a seven

859
00:35:24,609 --> 00:35:27,465
[Speaker 0]
twenty seven would go for these days. I

860
00:35:27,465 --> 00:35:28,905
[Speaker 0]
don't think any of them are flying anymore,

861
00:35:28,905 --> 00:35:29,385
[Speaker 0]
are they?

862
00:35:29,385 --> 00:35:30,845
[Speaker 1]
I don't think so. Yeah.

863
00:35:31,145 --> 00:35:33,305
[Speaker 0]
Anyway, so, yeah, it's a great thing you

864
00:35:33,305 --> 00:35:35,545
[Speaker 0]
guys are doing here. And, like I said

865
00:35:35,625 --> 00:35:40,650
[Speaker 0]
and myself, I appreciate the, EAA, connection and

866
00:35:40,650 --> 00:35:42,490
[Speaker 0]
just the chance to hang out with people.

867
00:35:42,490 --> 00:35:45,770
[Speaker 0]
You know, I've retired military, retired air for

868
00:35:46,010 --> 00:35:48,250
[Speaker 0]
or airline pilots that come in here for

869
00:35:48,250 --> 00:35:48,970
[Speaker 0]
coffee and

870
00:35:49,130 --> 00:35:52,010
[Speaker 1]
We got students and astronauts that come here.

871
00:35:52,010 --> 00:35:53,069
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. Exactly.

872
00:35:53,290 --> 00:35:55,885
[Speaker 1]
We've got every single type of aviation you

873
00:35:55,885 --> 00:35:59,325
[Speaker 1]
can imagine. Today, there are, five or six

874
00:35:59,325 --> 00:36:03,805
[Speaker 1]
kids, from the, Legacy Aviation AMP school that

875
00:36:03,805 --> 00:36:06,605
[Speaker 1]
are doing virtual reality things around here.

876
00:36:06,605 --> 00:36:07,244
[Speaker 0]
And, you

877
00:36:07,244 --> 00:36:08,960
[Speaker 1]
know, I mean, there's just so fun.

878
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,059
[Speaker 0]
Something going on all the time.

879
00:36:11,119 --> 00:36:13,280
[Speaker 1]
All all day Saturday. And if you come

880
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:15,680
[Speaker 1]
on at most nights, there's something happening

881
00:36:15,839 --> 00:36:16,160
[Speaker 0]
Nice.

882
00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,559
[Speaker 1]
You know, between the civil air patrol, the

883
00:36:18,559 --> 00:36:23,785
[Speaker 1]
EAA, the students getting extra help. It's crazy

884
00:36:23,785 --> 00:36:24,605
[Speaker 1]
busy building.

885
00:36:24,985 --> 00:36:27,705
[Speaker 0]
Yeah. Well, very good. I guess we'll call

886
00:36:27,705 --> 00:36:30,425
[Speaker 0]
this an interview, and, thanks for being on.

887
00:36:30,425 --> 00:36:32,025
[Speaker 0]
We've been talking about this, what, for a

888
00:36:32,025 --> 00:36:35,545
[Speaker 0]
year? Yeah. Finally just set a date, said

889
00:36:35,545 --> 00:36:36,840
[Speaker 0]
we're gonna do this. Damn it.

890
00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,480
[Speaker 1]
Yep. And we got her done. Thank you.

891
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,480
[Speaker 1]
Thank you for letting me share what a

892
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,360
[Speaker 1]
cool program we have. If you're, looking to,

893
00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:47,080
[Speaker 1]
find us on the Internet, we are under

894
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:49,900
[Speaker 1]
legacy aviation dot org.

895
00:36:50,214 --> 00:36:52,775
[Speaker 0]
Okay. And I will also have links and

896
00:36:52,775 --> 00:36:55,675
[Speaker 0]
whatnot in the show notes. So, just go

897
00:36:56,135 --> 00:36:58,214
[Speaker 0]
to whichever podcast you're listening to because I'm

898
00:36:58,214 --> 00:37:01,095
[Speaker 0]
gonna put this out on two, and, there'll