Members of the Pennsylvania State Senate Aviation Caucus will head to Williamsport this week to tour the Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Aviation Center, as well as Lycoming Engines, a local company specializing in engineering, manufacture, service and support of piston aircraft engines.
The tour, hosted by Senator Gene Yaw (R-23), a member of the Aviation Caucus, will take place on Thursday, October 22, 2015, beginning at 10AM at the Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Kathryn Wentzel Lumley Aviation Center, located at the Williamsport Regional Airport, 500 Airport Road, Montoursville Borough.
Penn College’s aviation technology program has its origins in the 1930s, training Lycoming Engine employees. The program draws students from the mid-Atlantic region and is unique in its Bachelor of Science degree option. The large and varied fleet of aircraft, including a Boeing 727 cargo plane, on which students learn, as well as the avionics offered in the junior and senior year, sets Penn College’s aviation technology majors apart. The program also functions as an FAA-approved repair station.
The Senate Aviation Caucus is focusing on four key areas within the aviation industry. Sen. Yaw is leading the caucus’s efforts to examine the state’s aviation efforts for education, awareness, research and technology.
Beginning at 1:45PM, Aviation Caucus members will then head to Lycoming Engines, 652 Oliver Street, Williamsport. Lycoming piston engines power more than half of the world’s general aviation fleet – both rotary-wing and fixed-wing and also provides engines for military training schools and other specialized applications. Lycoming Engines is an operating division of Avco Corporation.
Chaired by state Senator Dave Argall (R-29), the Caucus was established to ensure that the General Assembly is sufficiently informed and knowledgeable on the many dynamic aviation issues and opportunities that impact the Commonwealth. The vision of the Caucus is to provide leadership and visibility for aviation issues to benefit the aviation industry – in both the private and public sectors – and the communities and citizens of the Commonwealth.