Duncan Aviation Permanently Loans Honeywell TFE731 Engine to Lincoln North Star High School Aviation Program

Duncan Aviation recently provided a Honeywell TFE731 engine to the Aviation Program at Lincoln North Star High School, expanding hands-on learning opportunities for students pursuing careers in aviation maintenance and engineering. Click image for high-res download.

LINCOLN, NEB. — Duncan Aviation recently provided a Honeywell TFE731 engine on permanent loan to the Aviation Program at Lincoln North Star High School, expanding hands-on learning opportunities for students pursuing careers in aviation maintenance and engineering.

“I plan to use the TFE731 to show how the four-cycle events in a small gas engine relate to the same processes in a turbofan engine,” said Amanda Woodward, Aviation & Technical Education teacher at Lincoln North Star. “For more advanced students who have learned safety wire, it will be a great option to have students practice safety wire on application. For my most advanced students, I plan to use oscilloscopes to expand what we're already doing with airframe inspections to include powerplants.”

The engine was originally intended as a training aid for Duncan Aviation’s Apprentice Program at the company’s Provo, Utah, location. After a shift in workforce development strategy at that location, the engine became an extra. Rather than let the asset go unused, Duncan Aviation’s Technical Education Center team identified an opportunity to make a meaningful impact the Lincoln community.

“Darwin Godemann really initiated the conversation,” said Kasey Harwick, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Duncan Aviation. “We’ve always believed in using real-world equipment to build confidence and competence in our technicians. When this engine no longer had a home internally, it made perfect sense to extend that same opportunity to students at Lincoln North Star.”

Godemann, Team Leader of the Technical Training Center, worked with Duncan Aviation leadership to coordinate the placement of the engine at Lincoln North Star. The goal was to mirror the type of hands-on experience Duncan Aviation apprentices receive, particularly in areas such as borescope inspections and engine familiarization.

“When we delivered the engine, students were working on small engines in class,” said Godemann. “I mentioned that the TFE731 is also a four-cycle internal combustion engine—just like what they were studying. You could see the gears turning as they connected those foundational principles to a turbine engine.”

The engine is mounted on a stand donated by Discount Tire, ensuring it can be safely and effectively used in the classroom environment.

Lincoln North Star’s Aviation Program has been recognized for its commitment to preparing students for aviation careers through a blend of classroom instruction and practical experience. Duncan Aviation has long supported the program through mentorship, facility tours, and educational partnerships, helping build a skilled workforce that ensures high-quality maintenance support for aircraft operators in the future.

“Having an actual aircraft powerplant, on a stand in the hangar, transforms learning from theoretical to hands-on,” Woodward said. “It’s no longer just a photo on a slideshow, it’s tangible. Students won’t forget the experience of inspecting a turbofan engine in a high school classroom. This gives them further opportunity to use real tools and truly explore whether a career in aviation maintenance is the right fit.”

Harwick added that this is about investing in the future workforce.

“By giving students access to the same types of equipment our technicians use, we’re helping them build skills earlier and understand what a career in aviation can look like,” he said.

“We are so lucky,” Woodward added. “I thought having the Cessna 150 was cool, but this is on another level. Our program is the only public school in the country with this type of equipment and opportunity. I’m excited to keep building and see how much excellence we can bring out in high school students.”

Duncan Aviation’s continued collaboration with Lincoln North Star reflects its broader commitment to workforce development and community engagement, helping inspire and prepare the next generation of aviation professionals who will ultimately support customers across the industry.

“Kids can’t pursue careers they don’t know about,” Woodward said. “Having this incredible partnership between Duncan Aviation, including all of these incredible hands-on learning opportunities—not to mention our students who are actually out at Duncan Aviation working on aircraft—is going to have an incredibly positive effect in the Lincoln community. I hope everybody who reads this is as excited as I am and tells everyone they know about the unlimited opportunities in the aviation maintenance and aviation industries.”

About Duncan Aviation

Duncan Aviation is an aircraft service provider supporting the aviation needs of business aircraft operators, government agencies, and other aircraft service providers. Services include major and minor airframe inspections, engine maintenance, major retrofits for cabin and cockpit avionics systems, full paint and interior services, engineering and certification services, fabrication and manufacturing services, and preowned aircraft sales and acquisitions. Duncan Aviation also has international aircraft components solutions experts available 24/7/365 at +1 402.475.4125 who can handle any aircraft system problem with immediate exchanges, rotables, loaners or avionics/instrument/accessory repairs and overhauls. Complete service facilities are located in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Provo, Utah. We also have dozens of other facilities strategically located throughout the United States to provide customers with scheduled regional support and the quickest response possible to avionics, engine and airframe Aircraft On Ground (AOG) situations.

For more information about any of Duncan Aviation’s services, call +1 402.475.2611 or visit https://DuncanAviation.aero/services