LSC Unveils New Fleet for Aviation Center; Monaco Gift Acknowledged
Officials from Lake Superior College, Monaco Air Duluth, Cirrus Design and other dignitaries helped unveil LSC’s new fleet of planes today. LSC has obtained four aircraft, including a new Cirrus SR20. Dale Klapmeier, vice chairman of Cirrus Design, handed the key to the new plane to LSC President Kathy Nelson. LSC Foundation President Mary Thompson Bode acknowledged the $250,000 Monaco Family Charitable Fund gift that helped buy the planes and support the Center for Advanced Aviation (CAA) program.
Lake Superior College’s professional pilot program is off to its best start ever with 24 students enrolled in credit-based programs and another 15 scheduled for flight training. The Center for Advanced Aviation will train specialists in aircraft maintenance, professional piloting, avionics, management and aircraft manufacturing specifically for the general aviation field. General aviation includes all aviation other than scheduled commercial and military flights. The general aviation market consists of 96 percent of U.S. aircraft, 60 percent of flight hours and employs 1.3 million people in the U.S.
In front of LSC’s new Cirrus SR20, (complete with LSC logo on the tail and website on the door,) left to right: Don Monaco, owner, Monaco Air Duluth; Candace Barnack, LSC vice president of academic affairs; Dr. Kathy Nelson, LSC president, and Dale Klapmeier, vice chairman, Cirrus Design.