Building an Academic Pathway for Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft Maintenance Technicians

该项目旨在通过培训下一代飞机维修技术人员来服务和维护无人机系统（UAS）和先进空中机动（AAM）飞机，从而维护国家在全球航空航天工业的前沿地位，从而为国家利益服务。航空航天业正在转向越来越依赖半自动或全自动电动或混合动力飞机，这些飞机将很快得到更频繁的使用，并发挥更大的作用。与此同时，即将出台的联邦法规的补充和修改将要求这些新型飞机定期进行维修，以确保其在国家空域系统（NAS）中的适航性和运行安全性。为了支持国内航空业的增长，并保持不断扩大的UAS和AAM飞机机队充分发挥其潜力，同时保持符合联邦法规，国家将需要足够数量的航空维修技术人员。这些技术人员需要具备维护这些飞机的技能，并能够诊断和修复包括传感器、航空电子设备、通信、电力推进和电池系统在内的固有先进技术的任何问题。该项目将有助于满足这一需求，使现有航空维修人员和航空领域的新手能够获得培训和资源，以发展这些技能。该项目将开发教育途径，通过培训各种技术人员来维护和修理无人机和空对空飞机。它还将促进对填补这些职位所需的技能和能力的共同理解，并将这些技能纳入中学后短期技术证书课程。该课程的编制将与具有区域和全国影响力的伙伴协调进行，经工业界代表确认，并在全国各大学广泛传播和复制。这些努力将是解决能够维修这些新型飞机的技术人员预计劳动力短缺问题的关键。将为目前的航空维修人员开发培训讲习班，探索无人机和空对空系统的创新，并指导他们掌握维修这些飞机所需的技能。此外，为了开发未来UAS和AAM维修技术人员的招聘渠道，该项目将开发高中STEM内容和教师培训模块。此外，该项目将举办研讨会，为高中教师提供创新课程、多媒体和学习活动，介绍AAM范式、无人机技术的组成部分，并为航空维修技术人员提供机会。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by training the next generation of aircraft maintenance technicians to service and maintain Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft, thus safeguarding the nation’s position at the forefront of the global aerospace industry. The aerospace industry is shifting toward increased reliance on semi- or fully autonomous electric or hybrid aircraft, which will soon be used more frequently and in expanded roles. At the same time, upcoming additions and changes to federal regulations will require that these new aircraft types are regularly serviced to ensure their airworthiness and safety of operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). To support the domestic growth of the industry and to keep the expanding fleet of UAS and AAM aircraft performing at its full potential while remaining in compliance with federal regulations, the nation will require a sufficient number of aviation maintenance technicians. These technicians will need to have the skills to maintain these aircraft and to diagnose and repair any problems with inherent advanced technologies including sensors, avionics, communications, electric propulsion, and battery systems. This project will help address this need by enabling access to training and resources to develop these skill sets for both incumbent aviation maintenance workers and individuals who are new to the aviation field.This project will develop educational pathways by which a diverse pool of technicians will be trained to maintain and repair UAS and AAM aircraft. It will also advance a shared understanding of the skills and competencies needed to fill such roles and embed these skills into a post-secondary short-term technical certificate curriculum. The development of this curriculum will be undertaken in coordination with partners having regional and national reach, validated by industry representatives, and widely disseminated and replicated at colleges across the country. These efforts will be key to addressing the projected workforce shortage of technicians capable of servicing these new types of aircraft. Training workshops will be developed for current aviation maintenance workers exploring the innovations in UAS and AAM and orienting them to the skills needed to service these aircraft. Additionally, to develop the recruitment pipeline for future UAS and AAM maintenance technicians, the project will develop high school STEM content and train-the-teacher modules. Further, the project will conduct workshops to provide high school teachers with innovative curriculum, multimedia, and learning activities introducing the AAM paradigm, the components of UAS technologies, and opportunities for aviation maintenance technicians. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.