Charlotte High School's new 24,000-square-foot aviation hangar took flight Tuesday.
The hangar is a part of the high school's aviation program, which provides classroom learning on things like how to build a plane or prepare it for flight.
Students in the program, like Nina Dotres, are on cloud 9.
"This program, though, still in its early days, has introduced to me the wonders of aviation," Dotres said. "I now understand that aviation embodies more than just taking to the skies. It represents a field where precision, innovation and determination are key."
The program now offers hands-on learning with the hangar. It simulates real-world experiences.
"These hangars will allow us to simulate real-world experience for our students that give them that experience working on airplanes," said Brian Granstra, Charlotte County Public Schools Director of Career and Technical education.
Granstra said their hope is to land students' jobs right after graduation.
"We want to attract more space industry to an aerospace to Charlotte County," said Granstra. "We're not going to launch rockets in Charlotte County, but we hope to have the companies that supply to the aerospace companies that do launch rockets or build airplanes from the country."
Mike Miller with Space Florida hopes to provide exactly that.
"We can help make that vision happen by working with the Department of Commerce, working with the Department of Transportation, and the toolkit we have at Space Florida," Miller said.
The hangar is supposed to be complete by next February.