Eastern Kentucky University and state officials ceremonially broke ground on a new flight training center for the school’s aviation program Tuesday.
The $25 million dollar center is replacing a workspace of two trailers to a dedicated building at Madison County’s Central Kentucky Regional Airport.
Governor Andy Beshear, Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade all attended the ceremony. The center is being funded from the state budget.
EKU President David McFaddin says the state of the program shows the “grit” of eastern Kentucky.
“From converted FEMA trailers to converted hangers, we have made do as this program has exploded in enrollment over the last decade, and so we are so proud of the work that goes on here every day,” McFaddin said.
Elijah Wolf is a senior in the program. He says the new center will help incoming students.
“We're kind of crammed as it is, 400 students in a double wide is not very easy to move around in,” Wolf said. “So we're going to have just more space and a better one on one connection with your instructor, because there's less interruptions.”
EKU expects the center to be open by early 2027.
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