Fed Ex has donated a Boeing 727-200 jet to the University of T&T (UTT) Aviation Institute. Accepting the gift at the Piarco International Airport yesterday, Tertiary Education and Skills Training Minister Fazal Karim expressed delight with the programme. He conceptualised the institute in 1999 during his tenure as deputy chairman of Caroni 1975 Ltd. During a visit in February, he assured the project was being executed within budget and would be completed within the allocated time frame of next May.
The jet will be housed at the new hangar at the Aviation Institute, Camden Road, Couva. Work on the new hangar is expected to be completed by June, after which students will be trained to use the jet in various areas, including rigging operations, system functions, radio/radar systems and pneumatics/hydraulics. Reiterating that the work had “taken off in full flight,” Karim said Cabinet had approved the $41 million price tag.
Karim noted that $41,600,000 was approved by Cabinet for phase one which included the hangar and associated infrastructural works. He said in respect of that phase, foundation works had been 100 per cent completed. Phase one of the institute comprises 14,335 square feet of enclosed space, a portion of the ten acres of land allocated to the project at the Camden Airfield, Camden Base Road, Couva. Upon completion, its expected student capacity will be 75 with all levels of staffing at 25.
The hangar will include an engine equipment shop, a sheet metal shop, a wheel and brake shop and an avionics shop on the ground level. Currently, there are 25 students enrolled in the first Gate approved UTT Certificate in aviation technology. The students were chosen from 275 applicants and began classes last October.