Boeing 727 ‘Fed-exed’ to UTT

The jet is to be housed at the new hangar, which will be completed by June. Students will be trained through utilising the jet in the areas of, Rigging Operations, System Functions, Radio/radar systems and Pneumatics/Hydraulics, said Parissram Jaggernath, Director of the Aviation Institute at UTT.

Turning his attention to the construction work at the UTT Aviation campus, Karim noted that $41,600,000 was approved by Cabinet for Phase 1 – Hangar and Associated Infrastructure works. For said phase, foundation work has been completed and construction continues with main contractor Junior Sammy Construction Ltd.

Phase 1 of the campus comprises 14,335 square feet of enclosed space, which is a portion of the ten acres of land allocated to this project at Camden Airfield off Camden Base Road, Couva.

Upon completion, the Institute’s expected student capacity is 75, while all levels of staffing stand at 25.

The Hangar will include engine equipment shop, sheet metal shop, wheel and brake shop and avionics shop on the ground level. The Mezzanine level will contain computer labs, classrooms, instructor rooms, conference room and offices.

Currently, there are 25 students enrolled in the first GATE Approved UTT Certificate in Aviation Technology. The students were chosen from a pool of 275 applicants and commenced classes last October. This is just one of the many programmes to be offered at the Campus.

Other programmes to be introduced upon completion of the Hangar, are Bachelors in Aviation Maintenance Engineering, Profession Development Programmes for the aviation industry in the areas of Avionics, Autopilot, Airframes and Engines. Minister Karim also stated the Diploma in Aviation Technology (Two-Year Programme) and a B.Sc. in Aviation Technology (Two-Year Programme to include a period of Internship) are an integral part of future plans.

The state of the art campus has been deemed a “consortium” institute and has forged a number of partnerships with members of the aviation sector.

These include the Trinidad & Tobago Airguard, Caribbean Airlines, Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority and National Helicopter Services Limited.

Added to this, the Aviation Institute will overcome the human resource challenge in the industry and will provide a strong supply of qualified, skilled, competent personnel to meet the demands of the local air transportation system.