My name is Bill Allen and I am the Facilities Manager for the MTSU Aerospace Airport Campus. I created this page to let potential MTSU Aerospace students see some of the aircraft, buildings, and equipment that the school has to offer. Some of the aircraft are currently in use by the flight school while others are used by the maintenance program. Other aircraft are restoration projects or university special-use aircraft.

This aircraft was purchased by the Aerospace department in conjunction with the MTSU Foundation in a rough condition. It was purchased from the Texas Department of forestry and flown to the Murfreesboro Airport. Students in the Maintenance program worked on the restoration of this aircraft including changing the paint scheme from bright yellow to the current scheme. The aircraft is now used as a recruiting aid and is featured in the P-38 "Glacier Girl" welcome book at Middlesboro, Kentucky Airport. The maintenance on this aircraft is performed by myself with the help of many diligent student workers.

This aircraft was rescued by the Aerospace Department in the Fall of 1996 from the "boneyard" at Tucson, Arizona. It had been seized from drug runners with almost 500 hours on it. The U.S. Customs service operated it until their budget was cut and they were forced to put it into storage. We had the chance to acquire it after a little over a year of storage and we jumped at the chance. A "rescue" crew was dispatched to Arizona where they found an aircraft taped up against sand infiltration but basically in the shape you see here. They flew the aircraft back and after some attention to detail it has been transformed into an executive transport that the school can be proud of.

This aircraft was one of the first purchased for the maintenance school. The engine was removed for overhaul in 1988 and during the time the aircraft was stored outside. The aircraft unfortunately met with weather which resulted in it being flipped over causing damage to several areas. Over the course of ten years, the aircraft was brought back to the condition you see here. The gear was changed from the tricycle Cessna setup to the conventional setup pictured. When I came to work for the University, my student workers and I stripped the paint from the fuselage and Chris Keenum of the flight school maintenance department applied the professional paint system. Many other parts of the airplane received attention by several student workers each providing their own unique touch to the aircraft. The striping was applied in late 1997 as well as new interior and digital King radios. The aircraft is currently undergoing troubleshooting flights and bugs are being worked out.

This aircraft was purchased in the Fall of 1996 by the Aerospace Department from the South Carolina Department of Forestry. It had been involved in a fuel exhaustion accident in 1988. It had remained in a warehouse with four other PA-18s in various states of disrepair since that time. We applied to get all five but only received one which turned out to be the nicest airframe out of what was left. I traveled to South Carolina along with 147 Director Terry Dorris and some student workers during a snow storm to load up the plane and bring it home. Maintenance student Eric Lorvig is currently spearheading the restoration project with help from myself and other student workers. He has stripped the fuselage of all paint and primed all surfaces. He has also restored many pieces to nearly new condition as well as fabricated new parts where necessary. We expect to cover the aircraft in the summer of 1998 and overhaul the engine this Fall. We hope to have it completed by the end of the year.

    This aircraft is used by the maintenance students for training on landing gear, props, PT-6 engines, de-ice systems, and several other areas. It is not maintained in airworthy condition but it is used by multi-engine students for engine starting procedure training and aircraft system familiarization.

    This helicopter was purchased by the school from the Smyrna Air Guard for use in the 147 Maintenance program. It had to be delivered by truck as it was unsafe for flight. The instructors and students now run it to demonstrate helicopter systems and theory.

    This helicopter was purchased from the Air Guard in Birmingham, Alabama. It was theorized that it had been hit by lightning due to some magnetism in some parts. In March of 1997, Terry Dorris, myself, and some student workers went to Birmingham with a trailer behind a school van to recover this aircraft. With the help of the people at the base, we loaded it with a crane onto the trailer and headed for home. We received many puzzled looks from people traveling on the interstate as they passed us. The aircraft is now used as a maintenance training aid.

    This is the 147 maintenance building that houses all of the equipment and classrooms for the 147 program. It has a hangar door that provides direct access to the MBT ramp and tiedown areas to facilitate aircraft movement.

    This is the new 141 flight school building and one example of the training aircraft used by the program. The building was finished in the summer of 1997 and has been in use by the flight students since.

    The following are pictures of the Murfreesboro Airport ramp and some of the aircraft that the flight school uses in flight training.

LINKS
NTSB aircraft accident database
Landings Home Page
MTSU Aerospace Home Page