Air power: the far-reaching North Carolina aviation and aerospace industry is adding capacity and capabilities, helping the state's. economy soar.

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Elton Stone is a 53-year-old student. The Navy veteran is earning his master's degree in space studies online from American Military University. He also is a teacher. Three-and-a-half years ago, he started work at College of The Albemarle in Elizabeth City, part of the 58-school N.C. Community College System. It hired him to lead its new Aviation Systems Technology program. This past fall, 24 students enrolled in Stone's inaugural general-aviation maintenance class. Many had never touched an airplane before, but by the end of the semester, they had sat in one and cranked it up. "One of the first things I say when I come into the classroom is, 'If it's not loud, cool and fun, let's do something else.'"

Stone grew up in Roanoke Rapids and wanted to work on airplanes. When he finished high school, the only way he knew to do that was by enlisting in the military. The program he leads gives students in eastern North Carolina the hands-on opportunity he wanted. He travels to high schools, telling students about the college's two-year Aviation Systems Technology program. When students complete it--plus general-education requirements--they receive an associate degree in applied science and qualify for an aircraft mechanic's certificate with airframe and power- plant ratings from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA does not require it to work on aircraft, but many employers do. Students attend classes and train on two aircraft--a Cherokee 140 and a Cessna Commuter--at the 40,000-square-foot, $7 million Regional Aviation and Technical Training Center in Barco. The center, which the college and Currituck County built and opened in 2013, is the first post-secondary school in the county.

"We want to see a steady stream of local residents be educated in the local community colleges and remain within the region or state to do these jobs," says Peter Bishop, director of the Currituck County Economic Development Department. "Five years down the road, I'd love to see a graduating class, all from local high schools, buy homes, work here, live and raise their children here. It's easy for people to say, 'There's nothing here for us: But if they look, there are opportunities. ... The uninformed taxpayer may [question it], but the more they look into it, it makes all the sense in the world."

What taxpayers would see is an aviation and aerospace industry that plays a large role in making the state economy soar. A 2008 report published by N.C. State...