A FedEx Express 727 freighter donated by the company to Everett Community College’s Aviation Maintenance Technician School is arriving July 25 at Paine Field.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and EvCC President David Beyer will welcome the delivery of the airplane with a celebration at 1:30 p.m. July 25 at the Paine Field Administrative Office, 3220 100th St. SW in Everett, followed by a tour of the airplane.
“Thanks to FedEx Express, EvCC students will be able to do hands-on training with a large aircraft, enhancing their skills and helping Washington lead the way as the world’s aerospace training center,” said EvCC President David Beyer.
The FedEx gift to EvCC marks the 76th 727 the company has donated over the last several years to aviation schools, colleges, local community airports and fire departments for training purposes coast to coast.
David Sutton, FedEx Express managing director of Aircraft Acquisition and Sales, will present the plane to EvCC at the celebration.
“We’re so proud to be able to provide these aircraft to school aviation programs that are helping train our next generation of aviation professionals,” Sutton said. “Not only are the retired 727s providing essential training opportunities, but their retirement is also allowing FedEx to introduce more modern, fuel-efficient, lower-emission aircraft into our extensive fleet.”
With a wingspan of 108 feet, measuring 153 feet from nose to tail, and a maximum FedEx operating revenue payload capacity of 55,000 pounds, the donated 727 freighter will be the largest plane in the EvCC aviation maintenance program.
Until now, curriculum about larger airplanes was presented in the classroom, textbooks and on the computer, said Dave Bowen, Director of EvCC’s Aviation Maintenance Technician School.
“This donation gives our students a head start by better preparing them to enter the aerospace industry,” Bowen said.
The 727 weighs in at about 191,000 pounds when loaded and has a tail height of 34 feet. It is capable of reaching a top speed of 685 mph and an altitude of 36,000 feet.
FedEx 727 freighters, once the backbone of FedEx’s domestic fleet, are retired and being replaced with Boeing 757s. The company is upgrading its fleet with more fuel-efficient, lower emission aircraft under a fleet modernization program that includes Boeing 777s and this fall the first of 50 Boeing 767 aircraft.
Students and faculty from EvCC’s Aviation Maintenance Technician School will attend the July 25 celebration. The school, which has 71 students enrolled during Summer quarter, is one of only about 150 schools nationwide that train airframe and powerplant mechanics. In the eight-quarter, 2,040-hour program, students learn about 45 subjects and work hands-on with a variety of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
Students can prepare for a Federal Aviation Administration Airframe and Powerplant license, get a certificate in Aviation Technology or earn an associate of technical arts (ATA) degree in Aviation Maintenance Technology.
