Educators
Exploring Aviation Together
Schedule your students for a class tour and hands-on activities in the terminal, hangars and yes, in airplanes both big and small!
We are passionate about creating memorable experiences for students to connect with aviation principles, airport operations and an important community resource.
Education Partnership Opportunities
West Michigan Regional Airport is open for new educational partnership opportunities.
Whether it’s a high-school introduction to flight class or a full aviation summer school, if you have a vision for aviation-related education, we want to hear from you.
Our Partners for the Next Generation of Aviation
“Our goal is to introduce kids to aviation and all aspects of it. Whether it be flying or being an aircraft mechanic or being in flight scheduling or any other number of things that involve aviation.”
4OneAir
4OneAir is a flight school housed at WMRA that is owned and operated by Rick Thompson. Thompson is a long-time employee of fixed based operators at West Michigan Regional Airport. He’s worked in varying roles such as customer service, line management and flight instruction since 2007 and has been a flight instructor for 14 years.
Students of 4OneAir have the ability to earn their private pilot’s license, commercial pilot license, certified flight instructor license, several instrument ratings, and more. If you’re interested in becoming a pilot, visit their website to learn more!
Flight Path
Flight Path is a nonprofit youth aviation education program located out of WMRA. Their Flight Night programs are a free educational opportunity for middle and high school students to explore various fields within aviation. Flight Path and WMRA connect students to plane mechanics, flight schedulers, corporate pilots and other aviation specialists onsite to talk to the students and answer questions.
Flight Nights provide a fun introduction to aviation that include VR flights on the Redbird simulator, cockpit tours on real planes, and presentations from aviation professionals on the history of the industry.
STEM Flights
National aviation education non-profit STEM Flights engages students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics necessary for a career in aviation. STEM Flights recently expanded their program into Michigan, and their new partnership with Flight Path will help students take their interest in aviation to a higher level.
The STEM Flights program coordinates a national network of volunteer pilots who mentor students interested in aviation. Pilots educate the students on the core STEM principles and introduce them to potential aviation careers.
FuturePREP’d Partnership
Recently, WMRA partnered with Ottawa Area ISD’s FuturePREP’d summer program. The FuturePREP’d program helps to connect students with real-world experiences with businesses in the community. The goal is to get students to engage in design thinking through a driving question.
We loved hosting students at the airport. Their creativity in answering their driving question, “How can they use the airport to create meaningful educational experiences using aviation as a pathway?” was inspirational. Watch the video to learn more about their experience!
Schedule a Group Tour
Share a little information about your group, and a representative will be in touch with you as soon as we can!