Arkansas Institutions Launch Aviation Programs to Tackle Pilot Shortage

(Provided/Jean Marie Urlacher)

With the aviation industry facing a growing demand for pilots, Arkansas institutions are launching programs to train aviation professionals across the state.

New initiatives like the Aviation Academy at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, which celebrated its first year of operation in March, and a professional flight program at John Brown University in Siloam Springs are positioning the state to address industry needs.

While the specifics of the two programs differ, graduates of both will have all four licenses required to become a professional pilot, logged flight hours and a pathway to high-paying aviation careers.

The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers was $219,140 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. UCA’s Aviation Academy website states that airlines are expected to hire 18,000 pilots through 2026 and that 600,000 pilots will be needed globally by 2040.

UCA Aviation Academy

“You will go to an airport and have a delay or a cancellation. Many times it’s because there wasn’t a pilot available; it’s not always weather or mechanical,” said Brad Teague, director of the UCA Aviation Academy. “We saw the need. We wanted to be a part of workforce development in our state.”

UCA’s Aviation Academy has quickly gained altitude, with five cohorts and about 50 students now training across various certification levels. A new cohort begins every three months and has a maximum of 15 students.

Teague said that 49 of the current 50 students are from Arkansas.

The academy distinguishes itself through a vocational approach that doesn’t tie flight training to a specific degree program. Students can pursue flight training exclusively or pair it with any UCA degree.

“We’re not tied to an academic degree program, but we certainly think getting a degree is important,” Teague said. “What’s great is you can get the degree of your choice rather than an aviation degree. We love that flexibility.”

UCA’s program operates through a partnership with Central Flying Academy of Little Rock, formerly Central Flying Service, which provides all flight instruction and aircraft. Students begin with “ground school” classes on UCA’s campus before transitioning to flight training at Conway Regional Airport.

Ground school and flight training are the two halves that make up pilot training. During ground school, students learn about how airplanes fly, the weather and other aviation-related topics. The main goal of ground school is to pass a knowledge test that allows students to move onto flight training.

UCA is also constructing a dedicated hangar at the Conway airport, scheduled for completion in June. It will include classrooms, offices, study areas and flight simulators to reduce some training costs for students. But Teague said ground school will most likely still be held on UCA’s campus.

Teague said UCA’s students will typically require about two years to obtain the four necessary certifications to become a commercial pilot: private pilot license, instrument rating, commercial license and multi-engine rating.

The private pilot license allows for recreational flying and the instrument rating is necessary for weather conditions that require pilots to rely on flight instruments for navigation and control, rather than visual cues. The commercial license enables flying for hire, and the multi-engine rating is required for flying airplanes with more than one engine.

Most of the academy’s students want to be commercial airline pilots, Teague said, so they would need all four licenses and 1,500 logged flight hours.

Students won’t log 1,500 hours just through the flight program, but they will get a good start on it, Teague said. Most will likely work as flight instructors or commercial business pilots to reach that number.

The total cost averages around $75,000, with students paying incrementally as they advance through each stage.

“That fluctuates depending on how quickly you get it done, your aptitude, your consistency, your motivation,” Teague said. Students start by paying a $10,000 deposit that pays for ground school and around 30 hours of flight training.

Flight training covers the cost for the use of a plane and the instructor. For UCA, it’s $300 per hour.

Once students pass the $10,000 mark, they pay another $6,000, and “that $16,000 should get most everybody their private pilot license,” Teague said. “So that’s the cadence.”

After another $10,000 deposit and $6,000 payment, students should have their instrument rating. And then the commercial license and multi-engine rating.

“This is your money for your flight training,” Teague said. “So far, it’s worked pretty well. It’s not $75,000 up front. You pay as you go.”

Those prices don’t include tuition costs for students who pair the flight training with a UCA degree.

JBU Flight Program

JBU also recently announced the addition of a Bachelor of Science in professional flight, set to begin in the fall. It differs from the UCA program in that the flight training is tied to a specific degree program.

“Some young people go and get a pilot’s license, and they spend a fair amount of money to do that, but they don’t have the degree. And so they hit certain points in their career that if they want to move forward in that direction, they need to have a bachelor’s degree,” said Joe Walenciak, the JBU program coordinator for the professional flight project.

The new degree is offered through a partnership with Springdale-based flight school Airo, formerly FlyARH. Students will complete a business-focused liberal arts curriculum at JBU while receiving flight and ground instruction from Airo at the Springdale Municipal Airport.

Airo has operations in northwest Arkansas, Tulsa and Kansas City and Branson, Missouri. It offers helicopter tours, aerial services and flight training for helicopters and traditional fixed-wing aircraft.

Elizabeth Resh, the general manager for Airo in northwest Arkansas, will oversee the degree’s flight training. She said the program will initially accept 20 students, with the potential to increase in later years.

“We’re walking before we run,” Resh said. The four-year program follows a structured progression, with students earning a different certification each year: private pilot in their freshman year, instrument rating as sophomores and commercial pilot as juniors. During their senior year, students can choose between flight instructor certification, multi-engine rating or both.

By the end of the degree, Resh estimates, each student will have around 300 flight hours. Students can then pursue various career paths including commercial airlines, corporate aviation, emergency services or missionary aviation.

While standard JBU tuition and scholarships apply to the program’s academic coursework, flight training costs are billed separately by Airo. The minimum cost estimate for all flight training is $82,415, with total costs potentially ranging from $95,000-$105,000 depending on student performance.

JBU estimates the academic expenses will total $21,217 with financial aid, $43,382 without. Students will be required to take 120 JBU credit hours.

Resh and Walenciak said students will have a set schedule of JBU classes and flight training.

“This is really a four-year commitment,” Walenciak said. “Every semester there’s ground school and a flight school class, and you have to proceed through them.”

He also said the program has been in the works for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic “put it on hold.” JBU previously had an aviation program around the time of World War II.

“We think there are a lot of young people here, particularly with the growth of northwest Arkansas, who would be interested in this,” Walenciak said. “We think it’s an unmet need.”

More Programs

North Arkansas College in Harrison also announced in March that it has partnered with the Clinton School District, Clinton Municipal Airport and Dawson Aircraft to develop a two-semester aviation maintenance program scheduled to begin in the fall.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2023 median pay for aircraft equipment mechanics and technicians at $75,020 per year. There are also more than 13,000 job openings annually in aircraft maintenance.

Henderson State University in Arkadelphia also hosts the Arkansas Aviation Academy, which provides training for pilots who are not enrolled as Henderson students but are seeking credentials to become commercial pilots, as well as a Bachelor of Science in aviation pathway and an MBA in aviation administration.