Redefining the NCAA

A measure supported by a large segment of the aviation industry, including the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Warbirds of America, and the EAA Type Coalition—which supports aviation education and workforce development—has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by a bipartisan group comprising 48 legislators.

HR 2879, which supports the establishment of the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation, was introduced on 27 April by Representative Andre Carson (Democrat-Indiana) and Representative Pete Stauber (Republican-Minnesota) with 46 cosponsors. The Center would focus on four primary areas: aviation and aerospace STEM curriculum, workforce development, economic and safety data and research sharing, and a forum for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The bill was a priority for now-retired U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma), an EAA member who received the organization’s Freedom of Flight Award in 2022. The legislation was introduced in the Senate (S.1752) and in the House (HR 3482) in May 2021, and passed in the House in September 2022 with overwhelming support (369-56). Regrettably, the initiative never received a vote in the Senate.

Ascribed the designation NCAA, the bill seeks to help the aviation and aerospace industries collaborate on programs conducive to the maintenance of a well-trained aviation/aerospace workforce. The bill sets out, also, to introduce U.S. youth to aviation Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum and assist U.S. military veterans aspiring to transition to professions within the aviation sector.

If codified, the NCAA would function as an independent body, enabling cooperation among all aviation and aerospace industry sectors for purpose of coordinating, promoting, and supporting the future of aviation. The NCAA is perceived by its supporters as a necessary initiative likely to shape future generations of pilots, aerospace engineers, unmanned aircraft system operators, aviation maintenance technicians, and other professionals.

A Boeing commercial study recently determined flying and maintaining the global commercial aircraft fleet over the next two decades will require north of 600,000 new pilots and 610,000 new aircraft maintenance technicians.

The NCAA stands to have an enormous impact on young people as it will foster educational efforts through the development and deployment of STEM-based aviation curriculum in middle and high schools. As an enabler of cooperation, the center would also serve as a repository for research conducted by colleges and universities, research institutions, and other aviation and aerospace concerns dependent upon stable, long-term influxes of skilled workers.

FMI: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2879