Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 24

Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, so Guerra and Metcalf tried unsuccessfully to obtain waivers from Broward County Aviation and from the FAA. The plane was just too big to land at the college’s facility. The transport wrangling dragged on for months and eventually, with help from Gary Spulak, president of Embraer USA, the plane was moved to Embraer pending its fate. Rays of Hope Just when it seemed like Metcalf’s dream for Broward College was fading, Worldwide Aircraft Recovery, a company renowned for moving aircraft for the Smithsonian Institute entered the picture. Guerra again chuckled at the memory; “They removed the wings, the tail section basically, anything they could take off to facilitate the move, they took it off!” Loading what remained of the aircraft on a ﬂ atbed truck, in the pre-dawn hours of January 15, 2006, they proceeded to move it from Embraer to Broward College. Navigating major roadways instead of the sky, the jet glided down S.R. 441, and the plane crossed the I-95 overpass just prior to rush hour. Normally 20 minutes by car, the ﬁnal journey for the plane took two hours. Everyone collectively held their breath as the massive B727 cleared the Florida Turnpike overpass by inches. “Michael’s biggest dreams were to get the transport category aircraft to Broward College and to provide scholarships for Broward College students,” Diana said in a recent interview. “I know he would be so proud of everything that has happened to make his vision a reality.” “Reassembling the dismantled plane was a wonderful project for Broward College’s aviation students,” Guerra said. After repainting the plane in Broward College’s trademark blue and white and working collaboratively with ISTAT and FedEx, Broward College decided to dedicate the plane in memory of Michael. “What many do not know is that Michael was a friend of the screenplay writer of the movie Top Gun,” Diana said, smiling at the memory. “In the 1986 blockbuster movie, he named Top Gun’s chief instructor ‘Commander Mike Metcalf’ after his friend who was so heavily involved in the aviation industry.” In the movie, Cmdr. Metcalf repeatedly drives home the value of teamwork in achieving goals. The gleaming B727, replete with “Commander Mike Metcalf” carefully inscribed on the nose and logos from FedEx and the college front and center, was unveiled by the school at a dedication ceremony on the tarmac on February 17, 2007. The event was upgraded to ﬁrst class when ISTAT Foundation President Roland Moore announced an ISTAT scholarship in honor of Metcalf and his tireless devotion to the industry. “The realization of Michael Metcalf’s dreams for Broward College Aviation Institute has been a sustained, synergistic exercise in teamwork. From Michael and Diana to David Sutton at FedEx, from Gary Spulak at Embraer to Roland Moore at ISTAT Foundation, your contributions have meant the world to our students,” enthused Nancy Botero, Broward College Foundation executive director. “I mean that quite literally; you have opened up a world of opportunity for our students. They will go on to careers that will proudly and positively impact the aviation industry.” “The Michael Metcalf Scholarship provides an incredible opportunity for students, in the industry Michael loved,” Diana said. “It assures south Florida a future at the forefront of aviation education.” Behind the Scenes Broward College began offering aviation classes in 1966, and in 1993, moved to a new facility adjacent to North Perry Airport on Perimeter Road. “Mike Metcalf’s vision has propelled Broward College Aviation Institute into the future,” Guerra stated. But, as enrollment continues to climb, Guerra is concerned. “There is such high demand for qualiﬁed pilots, and out of the 150 students currently enrolled, 70 of them are ﬁnancially grounded,” he added. “The pilot program at Broward College Aviation Institute costs on average $60,000, and lenders are typically not willing to underwrite loans to students for the necessary ﬂight hours. We want to continue to train the pilots of tomorrow today to be prepared for the future needs of the aviation industry.” The Broward College Aviation Institute is dedicated to the training of aviation professionals and offers associate degrees and certiﬁcations in six aviation ﬁelds including professional-pilot technology, aviation operations, airport-operations management, aviation-maintenance management, avionics technicians, and airtrafﬁc control. The institute also provides FAA-approved certiﬁcate programs for students to attain airframe and power-plant licenses. Offering onsite ﬂight training, a 7,000-square-foot hangar, ﬂight lab, state-of-the-art ﬂight training devices, air-trafﬁc control, aircraft-maintenance training equipment, computer-based testing, online courses and staff examiners, the Aviation Institute prepares students for aviation careers in the 21st century. Answering the call for help in funding the future of aviation education at Broward College, Roland Moore announced in January that ISTAT Foundation will continue to fund the Michael Metcalf Scholarship. “In fact,” Moore said, “the Michael Metcalf Scholarship was at the top of the 2009 ISTAT Scholarship list.” The 2009 ISTAT Scholarship Committee is comprised of co-chairs Dana Lockhart and Roland Moore in addition to Julian Balaam, Vito LaForgia, Chris Partridge, Ken Perich, Sonny Stern, Steven Townend and Jon Batchelor. Since its inception in 2007, the ISTAT Michael Metcalf Memorial Scholarship at Broward College has beneﬁted seven deserving students. “This past year, at Broward College Foundation’s ISTAT Michael Metcalf Scholarship ceremony, I was awestruck that not one, but ﬁve students received assistance from the Michael Metcalf Scholarship,” Diana said. “We’d love to provide more. There is no more signiﬁcant and meaningful way to perpetuate the aviation industry’s future than investing in the education of the industry’s next generation of professionals. Wherever he is, I am certain Michael would wholeheartedly agree.” 24 The ofﬁcial publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading PHOTO COURTESY OF RICK LEFELL

Jetrader - March/April 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jetrader - March/April 2010