By Mike Greife,
March 3, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO – The University of Central Missouri Department of Aviation recently
received a gift of a CFM International CFM36 jet engine from Southwest Airlines. The
engine, removed from service on Southwest’s fleet of Boeing 737 airliners, will become
a valuable tool in hands-on instruction for students in UCM’s aviation maintenance
program, as well as all other aspects of UCM aviation program.
The engine was delivered from Dallas late Wednesday morning, March 1, aboard a flatbed
truck. With assistance from Richter Excavating in Warrensburg, the 4-ton engine and
the cradle dolly on which it rests were lifted from the truck and moved into a hangar
at UCM’s Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport.
According to Tony Monetti, executive director of aviation and Skyhaven Airport, UCM
alumnus Rod Blake, a veteran in the airline industry currently working in engine development
for Southwest Airlines, contacted UCM aircraft maintenance director Steve Quick, offering
the engine. The gift was finalized with assistance from Joy Mistele, senior gift officer
with the UCM Alumni Foundation.
“This is a great opportunity for our students to learn hands-on about jet engines,”
Monetti said. “It’s important that they understand the functions of a jet engine as
they graduate and enter the world of aviation, and most higher education aviation
programs don’t have jet engines to use for instruction.”
Quick noted that the jet engine is a significant component in the training provided
by UCM with the Boeing 737 training simulator owned by the UCM aviation program.
“Students, whether they plan on a career in the cockpit or in maintenance, can get
a full understanding of the systems that they can’t get from textbooks and lecture,”
Quick said. “For our students in our aircraft maintenance program, it is a definite
significant advantage.”
For more information about UCM’s aviation programs, visit ucmo.edu/aviation.
