Press Release

Issued by Duncan Aviation.

December 4, 2023

On Monday, December 4th, Lincoln North Star High School and community members in Lincoln, Nebraska, celebrated the completion of a new $5.4 million hangar-style addition to the school's Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program. The program is centred around creating interest in aviation and training the next generation of pilots, technicians, engineers, dispatchers and flight instructors.

Nearly a decade ago, Duncan Aviation and many other companies in the aviation industry recognised an impending and growing shortfall of technicians and pilots that is expected to worsen. Stewart D'Leon, director of environmental and technical operations with the National Business Aviation Association, said the industry is really struggling to keep up with the demand for technicians. Boeing's 2022 Pilot and Technician Outlook projects a worldwide need for 610,000 new maintenance technicians over the next 20 years, 134,000 in North America alone. This has prompted companies in the aviation industry to rethink strategies for educating, recruiting and retaining qualified talent for the future.

More than seven years ago, the idea of a Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) programme focused on aviation curriculum started. Duncan Aviation partnered with LPS and North Star to create an Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program to expose students to the endless opportunities in aviation. There were 150 students enrolled in aviation courses during the 2019 school year, and that number quickly jumped to 215 students in 2021. It became clear the school would need a dedicated space to accommodate the growing aviation focus programme. Lead by Connie Duncan, wife of Duncan Aviation board of directors chairman Todd Duncan, Duncan Aviation graciously donated $3.34 million to the programme.

With that, the multi-million dollar project began, moving the aviation department from a small, shared space to a brand new 13,000 square-foot space near the front of the school, often referred to as one of the only public school airplane hangars in the nation. Because of the upgrades, the programme is now able to help more than 317 students learn about and pursue careers in aviation. Students now have the ability to take a new advanced aviation maintenance course, and use industry-standard equipment to perform hands-on projects to mimic some of the skills that an airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic needs to have.

Amanda Woodward, the career and technical education teacher at North Star who leads the programme, said she is grateful for all Duncan Aviation has done for the programme. “To work with my friends at Duncan Aviation, to get tools in the hands of students and to teach them how high-skill, high-wage and high-demand aviation maintenance careers can look is the honour of a lifetime,” she said.

Duncan Aviation team member services vice president Leon Holloway said he wants to give a special acknowledgement to Connie Duncan. “Your leadership, guidance and attitude toward getting stuff done kept everyone accountable,” said Holloway. “More importantly, your intentional passion to serve the students across Nebraska and surrounding areas was the light we all needed to believe the impossible is possible.”