Northwestern Michigan College is adding up to five more aircraft to its fleet. That’s after trustees approved $3.6 million in funding on Monday.
The money helps expand NMC’s growing aviation program and meet increased demand for pilot training.
“Ever since 2017 we've had a waitlist to get into our program,” said Alex Bloye, director of NMC’s aviation program. “Currently, the waitlist is around 100 students, which means some of those students could wait up to two years to get a flight spot.”
But more planes will open up more spots for students.
“For every aircraft we add, it’s 10 more students,” Bloye said. “So we could expand up to 50 additional students per year.”
The planes will join the program’s current fleet of 16 aircraft.
The purchase approval for five planes on Monday comes after similar action late last year, when trustees approved the purchase of two aircraft.
The two planes purchased in 2024 are new Cessna Skyhawks, expected to be delivered in 2028.
Of the five planes approved on Monday, only one is new — a Piper Seminole with expected delivery in 2026. The other four will come from the used market.
Bloye hopes at least a couple of those used planes can be acquired before August 2025, which is when NMC expects to open its expanded airplane hangar.
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