Details on the Marshall Flight School coming to the Greenbrier Valley Airport
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
“My phone has been ringing off the hook all morning,” said Martha Livesay, Director of the Greenbrier Valley Airport (LWB), on Friday. Earlier that morning, the Maxwelton airport was named as a new satellite location for Marshall University’s Bill Noe Flight School.
“We had our first two applications for the fall semester within two hours of the press release,” added Nancy Ritter, Chief of Aviation Operations for Marshall. “What a start! The community feels the energy.”
Marshall operates the Flight School out of Charleston’s Yaeger International Airport as well several satellite locations–Wheeling, Martinsburg, now Lewisburg, and another location to be named this year.
“We will do several types of training at Greenbrier,” explained Ritter. “Any individual that wants to start flying or hone their flying skills, we can start that immediately. Then the degree program will begin in the fall.”
“It’s phenomenal to get the school of aviation in southern West Virginia,” Livesay added. “It allows local students to stay in their hometown. Hopefully some will stay and work at our airport.”
With over 200 students in the Flight School currently and new employers seeking work-ready graduates all the time, including some right here in West Virginia, Ritter says it’s a good time to expand the program.
“The idea is to bring all facets of the aviation industry into West Virginia,” she said. “Techs, dispatchers, flight attendants, flying, we provide training in all areas.”
Livesay noted, “These are good, well-paying jobs young people may be unaware of.”
The LWB hub will be connected to the larger Flight School in multiple ways, including local students hosting their counterparts from other parts of their state and visiting them as well.
“Just hop in a plane, and it’s that easy to visit,” Ritter said. “We plan in February to come down and have an open house. We will be happy to invite everyone in, take a look at the airplanes, maybe the helicopter, some instructors, have presentations, and how people can get access to flight training. Not everybody is in the market for a bachelor’s degree. We are there to serve everyone. Not just a specific type of student.”
Ritter hopes the community will feel free to stop by and see the new satellite school for themselves in the coming months. “Sometimes aviation tends to run in families. People need to get to know the industry if they’re not familiar with it. We want folks to know all questions are great. We’re here to provide education.”
Livesay couldn’t be more excited. “This will be a huge deal.”
