business backgrounder | industry
and carbon fiber fabrics are
layered and cured, generally
ending up lighter than
aluminum and stronger
than steel. Weishorn is
the post-cure supervisor,
overseeing the work of
trimming, sanding and
painting the parts after they
have been hardened.
His complementary
positions — studying composites at college while
working with them on the
job each day — is a powerful
combination with a unique
benefit. As his company has
Eleven of the state’s community and technical colleges have trained more than 2,400 new aerospace
grown, Weishorn has been
workers through the Air Washington project.
able to connect several of
his Air Washington class
mates to positions for which they are now highly qualified.
They teach skill sets used in composite repair, manufacturing,
Weishorn is nearly finished with his associate’s degree, much of tooling and nondestructive inspection — courses as applicable for
it paid for by the Air Washington grant.
marine technology as for aerospace.
“I signed up for the classes just because composites
are new and exciting. Then I happened to get a job
here doing composites. The school called and said,
‘you’re on waiting list. Do you still want to do this?’
I said ‘Absolutely!’ Are they kidding me?”
— Jim Weishorn, Air Washington student and post-cure supervisor
at Angeles Composite Technologies, Inc.
Each participating Air Washington college can tailor its programs to fit the workforce needs of its service area. Peninsula
College, Weishorn notes, keeps in touch with the big shipbuilder
in Port Angeles to ensure that students are learning skills that will
be useful there, too.
coordination and communication
One of the success stories of Air Washington is its ability to train
composites technicians.
Composites — “the fine art of putting carbon fibers together and
baking them,” in Weigand’s words — help make lighter, stronger
parts for aircraft and the BMW I series of electric cars, which are
made from carbon composites created in Moses Lake at SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers.
46 association of washington business
Boeing already sources 787 wing structures from a plant in Frederickson, in Pierce County, and the Air Washington program has
been using that expertise as a base to enhance composites training
to colleges around the state — sharing curricula and building new
labs, Weigand said.
“We’re building an expanded composite workforce for the state
which helps support the whole composites-formed airframe,”
Weigand said. “The composites industry is just really booming. ...
This expansion not only supports the aerospace industry, but other
industries in the state.”
The technologies that help Air Washington students learn
aircraft composites also prepare the state’s workforce to build components for medical devices, kayaks and even precision unmanned
agricultural aerial drones.
what’s ahead
Air Washington is funded by a three-year federal grant which
ends in October, but the programs it created for colleges and students will c [