MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — The MTSU Aerospace program is expanding!
On Thursday, they will announce a plan to expand their flight operations center to Shelbyville. Governor Bill Lee, MTSU President Sidney McPhee and other officials will meet at the Shelbyville Municipal Airport at 10 a.m. to make the announcement.
MTSU is currently the largest customer at Murfreesboro Municipal Airport, responsible for about 70% of airport operations. This year the school bought 10 more planes to give students hands on learning experience and with those purchases come the need for more space.
Murfreesboro pushed back expansion of its airport, so the university looked to Shelbyville which is nearly three times larger. MTSU says the expansion is also due to the continuing nationwide shortage of new pilots and other aerospace professionals.
This relocation will pose some challenges. MTSU says there could be disruptions to student progress toward graduation.
One of the most pressing challenges is the distance between the Shelbyville campus and the main MTSU campus, which could range from 30 to 40 minutes with traffic. The university says they are working to develop ways to minimize the time students and faculty will spend traveling between these locations, but they intend to allow Aerospace students to complete as much academic work as possible in Shelbyville.
One thought is a shuttle that would transport students to and from the campus.
The plan is to move about 10 to 20 aircrafts to temporary facilities at the Shelbyville airport by the end of the 2024 spring semester.
Groundbreaking will be in summer or fall of 2024. Design of the new Aerospace campus, which will include hangars, classrooms, offices, and runway space, is expected to last about one year, and ground-breaking may occur in late summer or fall of 2024.
It is anticipated that the new facilities may be complete in late 2027. Until that eventual completion date, we expect that most of our flight training and all of our other educational programs will continue to be based in Murfreesboro.
