Advertisement

TV presenters opens new £12 million Aviation Academy

Credit: ITV News Anglia

It's been described as the first aviation academy in the world, and it opened today next to Norwich Airport.

Peforming the opening ceremony was the TV presenter Carol Vorderman, herself a qualified pilot. She is an honorary ambassador group captain with the Air Cadets.

Credit: ITV News Anglia

26 degree-level students began training in April, and will be joined by a further 100 16-year-old engineering students when the new academic year starts in September.

They will be taught on the site of a former Second World War aircraft hangar at the airport where a full-size Boeing 737 has been housed so that students can hone their skills.

Credit: ITV News Anglia

"This is putting Norwich back on the map of the aviation world. This was the home of the first metal-built aircraft... People have forgotten that as recently as 20 years ago we were the world centre for training in the aviation sector. Since then, numbers have been dropping, which is why we are facing a skills shortage.

– ASP chief executive Simon Witts
The TV presenter spent time talking to cadets. Credit: ITV News Anglia