Sinclair Community College bought an electric aircraft and flight simulator for more than $2.5M

The college said the simulator was delivered last month, with the aircraft expected early next year.

The package — plane and simulator — cost the school more than $2.5 million, officials said, saying Sinclair used $2 million from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and $500,000 of state capital funds, supplemented by Sinclair’s funds.

Training focused on ground school and pilot orientations could begin as soon as this summer, the college said.

However, students won’t be flying the aircraft any time soon.

Andrew Shepherd, Sinclair’s chief research officer, said the early use of the craft and the simulator will be for non-credit training and “familiarization” sessions, letting clients and students get comfortable with this new technology.

He envisions single-day ground schools leading to deeper orientations with the aircraft and, in time, flight.

“We’re going to be building out (educational) content as this goes along,” Shepherd said in an interview.

The BETA craft does not yet have Federal Aviation Administration certification. Students can’t build hours toward a flight rating in an experimental aircraft, Shepherd cautioned.

“What we purchased is an experimental aircraft,” he said.

In time, the college will explore will how both the plane and the simulator, which is housed in a semi-trailer, can be integrated into aviation-focused courses.

Sinclair says it is the first academic institution to acquire a BETA product.

This is not a new area for Sinclair. For years, the school has established partnerships and worked to create training in the realm of advanced air mobility aircraft, in Dayton and Springfield.

The craft and flight simulator will become part of Sinclair’s National UAS Training and Certification Center curriculum, with input from BETA Technologies, which has its own training program for customers.

Both the aircraft and simulator will be housed at the Springfield airport, home to the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence.

“The recent purchase of a BETA flight simulator and BETA aircraft by Sinclair Community College is another great step toward advancing Dayton’s role as the future of flight,” U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, said in a statement from Sinclair. “These systems will enable more students to gain critical training and education in advanced air mobility programs, which is essential for integration into the national airspace system.”

“We are thrilled to establish this novel partnership to advance the interests of industry, government, and academia,” said Jeffrey Miller, Sinclair’s senior vice president of workforce development and consulting.

The ALIA aircraft is said to be capable of transporting up to five passengers or 1,240 pounds of cargo. There is also a vertical takeoff-and-landing variant, the ALIA VTOL.

In November 2024, BETA rolled the first production-intent aircraft off its assembly line in Vermont.

“For more than a century, Sinclair has been educating and equipping future leaders,” said Shawn Hall, BETA Technologies’ chief revenue officer. “With the unique vision and motivation to acquire our AAM (advanced air mobility) technologies and expand its aerospace program into this next era, it’s clear why they’ve been so successful. By layering our electric aviation technologies on top of Sinclair’s long-standing excellence in aviation education, we’re not just familiarizing pilots and technicians with this new technology, we’re cultivating a new workforce for the future.”