AMT Program Helps Students Aim High

Brian C. Rain High School of Mobile, Alabama is doing another student aircraft build, and it’s already supported with $350,000.

The school’s Signature Academy Aviation and Aerospace pathway offers dual enrollment courses with the local community college, allowing high schoolers to directly earn an Associate in Applied Science degree in Airframe Technology, in addition to FAA certification as an AMT with an Airframe Endorsement.

B.C. Rain has already snagged $350,000 courtesy of State Representative Barbara Drummond to support the program, with administrators saying they plan to use the funds for new materials and expert personnel. In 2020, the student body finished off an aircraft build as a part of their hands-on education, and it’s about time to do it all fresh.

"This is my 3rd year in the aviation program, but we've never got to build a plane before,” says Senior at B.C. Rain, Teawrie Hudson. “The plane that was built outside, that was the class that graduated before we got here, so the whole time being in this program it's been hands-on, but it's never been actually building a plane, so I'm excited."

One instructor, Gary Booze, said the kids are a great fit for the program. "They are coming into the aviation sector part of this career perfectly. The pay’s up, the opportunities are up, there's opportunities around the world, not just Mobile. Each one of my classes all of these guys and girls in here, all of them build on this aircraft. They're hands-on, just like I am,” said Booze. “They're learning tools, they're learning how to read the instructions, they're learning the regulations and safety as we go through this.”

FMI: www.bcrainhighschool.com/aviationaerospace