A native of New Hampshire whose dad was a mechanic and who herself was once employed as a mechanic at an amusement park in the Granite State, Forsing said enrolling in the program’s Aviation Maintenance Technology division was an easy decision.
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“Everyone here has been very supportive,” said Forsing, who has learned more about reciprocating engines, fabric doping, the Rockwell hardness test, and rebuilding landing gears than she ever thought possible. “They are motivated by helping us learn.”
Indeed, Miramar College's Aeronautics and Aviation Program with its two divisions is the only low-tuition, FAA-approved aviation maintenance (Part 147) and pilot (PART 141) schools in the region. The Aviation Maintenance Technology and the Aviation Operations divisions both play a critical role in meeting a rising demand for drone pilots, airport operations staff, top-flight mechanics, avionics technicians, and more. Forsing, like virtually all graduates of the programs, will not be wanting for a job when she completes her training.
“There is a historic need for aircraft mechanics,” said Miramar College’s Aeronautics and Aviation Chair Max Moore who regularly sees postings for airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics that pay well into the $80,000-plus range annually. “Everybody’s fleets are growing larger and a lot of the existing mechanic workforce is retiring. Just about every one of our A&P students who wants a job gets a job.”
Added Daniel Smith, an assistant professor and director of the Aviation Maintenance Technology division that offers a 78-unit, five-semester curriculum required to take a licensing test for an FAA-required Mechanics Certificate: “Whenever Delta Air Lines has an opening for a mechanic, they’ll reach out to me and we’ll hook them up.”
It’s not just at Delta that students trained at Miramar College are working. Duncan Aviation, the largest privately owned business jet provider in the world, also collaborates closely with the program’s instructors, and several Miramar College students have progressed to internships and full-time jobs with major airlines. Others have embarked on solid careers keeping aircraft in top condition at smaller airports.
Similar stories are echoed in the Aviation Operations Program, which integrates simulator flight training with rigorous academic study for a first-class foundation in mastering the technical fundamentals of flight, airport operations, and safety. Students completing the two-year associate degree program meet qualifications for taking the FAA Airman Knowledge Test that can lead to various pilot certificates and transfer to a flight school. Aviation Operations also offers a growing number of courses in unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, providing a pathway into the burgeoning drone industry.
Decades of Excellence
Miramar College’s aviation roots stretch back further than the college itself — even before the aviation maintenance program began to soar when a hangar was built at the main campus on Black Mountain Road in 1971. In fact, Miramar College sits at the site of a former auxiliary landing field — Hourglass Field — for Naval Air Station Miramar. And it certainly is no coincidence it has developed strong ties to the military; the Aeronautics and Aviation Program employs a full-time liaison attached to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar just a couple miles south. And Moore, who, like Smith, served in the Marines, estimates well more than one-third of students in the A&P program are military veterans.
“We’ve had students come here from just about every military base in Southern California,” he said, adding that program personnel regularly visit bases in the region to discuss the program’s benefits with those on the cusp of transitioning to civilian life.
Alex Noack is one such veteran, having served in the Marines for more than five years as an avionics technician on CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters used to transport troops, equipment, and supplies. His goals: secure his A&P certificate and license, earn a bachelor’s degree, and work on small planes. He found what he was looking for at Miramar College.
“I honestly do appreciate how it’s not overly packed with people, which allows you to connect with your professor,” he said. “A lot of the instructors have a military background, and it’s easy to build close relationships and develop friendships with the people who are here.”
Most important, said Noack: “They all want you to succeed. They are not here to have you fail.”
That’s what drew Eli Damas who teaches general aviation in the A&P Program. He came to Miramar College in fall 2024 after working as an aircraft maintenance supervisor for UPS at Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County.
“I’m here for these students who are committed to what they’re doing,” he said.
Looking to the future
Crystal Castaneda embodies the potential for students in Miramar College’s Aeronautics and Aviation Program. Before she earned her associate degree from the maintenance program in 2021, the 25-year-old San Diego resident was offered a summer internship with Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she assisted in servicing and inspecting aircraft and honed her skills working on various components. During her internship, Castaneda was offered a full-time job. She decided instead to return to San Diego, where she quickly found work maintaining Pipers and Cirrus SR22s, SR22Ts, and Vision Jets. Not bad for someone who never imagined a career in the aviation industry and who had never worked on planes prior to enrolling in the program.
“Miramar prepared me well,” she said. “There was a bunch of material given to us from the beginning, a lot of reading, a lot of studying, but the instructors are there for you and the labs are really hands-on. It’s a hidden gem.”
And it soon promises to become an even more impressive jewel. With San Diego voters approving Measure HH in the November 2024 election, significant upgrades to the aviation program are now on the horizon. Miramar College will soon have the funding for a new hangar at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in Kearny Mesa to replace an outdated facility, built more than 75 years ago, that is critical to the program, provide additional classroom space, and perhaps purchase a new flight simulator.
“The aviation program is a core part of our college,” said Miramar College President P. Wesley Lundburg. “The facilities we currently have at the airport are not adequate for the classes we’re currently offering.”
Despite the current limitations, approximately 30 students graduate from the A&P program annually. Virtually all pass FAA licensing exams.
“It’s been a blast,” said Forsing. “I love planes, I love working as a mechanic, I love keeping people safe; it’s just a great combination that led me here.”