Outside and in, Fox Valley Technical College has been making improvements to its aviation center at Wittman Regional Airport. Most notable on the airport side is a new ramp that connects its hangars to the airport taxiway network. Work began during EAA AirVenture, when the school’s flight training activities take a break. Work is progressing ahead of schedule, says Airport Director Peter Moll. When the fall semester starts, flight students will not have to contend with heavy equipment, and they should also be learning in the facility’s new 8,000-square-foot addition.

Filling the space will be the pilot training program’s existing fixed flight simulators and two new full-motion Redbird FMX flight simulators, said lead flight instructor Jared Huss. Learning essential skills in the simulators before putting them into practice in an airplane is not only cost efficient, it provides an ideal environment for effective learning.

The addition’s timing couldn’t be better, he continued, because “we are busting at the seams with enrollment.” A contributing factor is FVTC’s partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh that will enable flight students to earn a four-year degree in aviation management.

The addition will also house a large lab for FVTC’s construction management program, three general study classrooms, a computer café where students can work outside of the classrooms, and a window-walled commons area where they can unwind or prepare for their next class. Without a doubt, Huss said, “it’s exciting time here at the SJ Spanbauer Center.”