Charlotte County aviation training center on track for December finish

About two months after breaking ground, construction is well underway on an aviation training facility at Punta Gorda Airport in Charlotte County.

Charlotte Technical College is building the training center within the PGD Aviation Expansion Area at the airport, using $5.75 million in state funding.

The college says in an update Tuesday that the foundation has been poured and contractors are finishing up the initial plumbing stage. The slab for the next phase of construction is scheduled to be poured within the next week even as site work continues.

Work on the center is expected to finish in December.

When complete, the building will be 19,420 square feet and include a 10,000-square-foot hangar, classrooms and labs that offer students the opportunity to train with industry-standard equipment and instruction, the college says.

The goal of the center is to train aspiring maintenance professionals with the skills needed to work in an industry with new technologies and regulations, according to its’s website.

Charlotte Technical College was founded in 1980 and was the county’s first vocational-trade school.

The aviation program was launched in 2018 through a $1.7 million grant from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.

According to the college’s website, the program prepares students for Federal Aviation Administration license exams focused on airframe and powerplant ratings.

(The FAA’s Aviation Mechanic certificate has two ratings: the Airframe and the Powerplant. Those who earn both get what is referred to as an “A&P Certificate.”)