DCCC trustees hear proposal for helicopter program

Anthony Lyons, dean of students and director of financial aid at Dodge City Community College, presented the college’s trustees with a helicopter program proposal on Wednesday.
    The Universal Helicopter Program would offer students the opportunity to earn a private pilot certificate, a commercial pilot certificate and an associate's degree. After completing the two-year program, graduates would be licensed pilot instructors who could enter the helicopter pilot industry with a degree.
    Lyons said many graduates from the program enter careers in medical evacuation and off-shore drilling.
    "The industry wants pilots to have a college degree, at least an associate's," he said.
    If the trustees approve the contract for the flight program, the school would partner with Universal Helicopters on this venture.
    "There is no other partnership like this in the United States," Lyons said.
    Universal Helicopters, which is owned by Gordan Jireux, has similar programs in place in San Diego; Provo, Utah; and Scottsdale, Ariz., where the company's headquarters are located.
     Lyons said the organization is well-established, and the program has been working well at its other locations.
    "It is an impressive and professional operation," he said.
    If the contract can be approved soon, the program could begin this fall with approximately 10 to 15 students. If it were successful, it would be expanded according to demand to accommodate approximately 25 students a semester.
    Both a two-seat and a four-seat helicopter would be provided for the program so students would have experience operating both machines.
    Instruction would begin with ground operations for the first few weeks of the semester. This would be taught by a DCCC instructor who is trained in this field.
    Sometime in September, flight operations and advanced ground operations would commence at Dodge City Regional Airport. The classes would be taught by Universal instructors.
    Lyons informed the board that the company has already secured housing for three helicopters at the airport, which could later be expanded to 10 helicopters and two helipads.
    This two-year program would cost somewhere between $80,000 to $100,000 and would be financed through alternative educational loans, or private loans, by lenders such as Wells Fargo, Citibank and Chase, which would partner with the university.
    Lyons said for those wishing to earn a pilot certificate without an associate's degree, the cost would be lowered. Helicopter program students would be charged in the same way as other students at the college.
    "I think this is the safest and best way to do this," Lyons said.
    In addition to hearing the proposal for the helicopter program, the board of trustees approved the college’s 2009 budget.
    President Richard Burke said it was important to have a balanced budget in the present economic climate. He told the public that the college would once again remain within its budget guidelines throughout the year.
    Burke went on to discuss upcoming events at the college.
    "We will be starting our 73rd year of educating students," he said. "We look forward to that."
  A welcome back to school barbecue celebration will begin at 5 p.m. Aug. 19 at DCCC kick off the year. The fall semester will begin Aug. 20.
   
Reach Cherise Forno at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at cheriseforno@dodgeglobe.com.