Students at a high school aviation program in North Conway are getting the chance to rebuild a defunct plane — and put it back in the air.

The Mount Washington Valley Career and Technical Center in North Conway, New Hampshire and the Eastern Slope Aviation Academy in Fryeburg, Maine have received a $500,000 federal grant to fund the project. Over the next two years, that money will pay for the supplies, curriculum and instruction to help the students rehabilitate a 1971 Grumman American aircraft donated to the school.

Virginia Schrader, who is overseeing the project, says this is part of a broader goal to expose students to in-demand and high-paying jobs in the aviation industry.

“When you live in such a small area, in such a small town such as we do,” Schrader said, “my belief is: exposing students to every single opportunity and option out there is imperative to their growth and their future.”

The aviation and aerospace program at Mount Washington Valley Career and Technical Center emerged six years ago, following discussions amongst Schrader, community leaders and retired pilots in the area. Schrader says it was one of the first in the region. Since then, the career and tech center in Littleton has also started one.

Over the course of the program, students typically get their license for pilot commercial drones and begin the process of training for an aircraft pilot’s license on one of the school’s two planes.

“One of the most fun things is seeing a student come down from what we call a ‘discovery flight’ — that's their very first flight,” Schrader said. “They come down and they're just all smiles or crazy ecstatic.”

Schrader estimates it will take about two years to fully rehabilitate the school’s third plane. If they choose, students who accrue hours in the class can put those towards getting licensed in aviation mechanics at Nashua Community College.

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