Students in Sarasota and Manatee counties are getting a permanent place to build real airplanes at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

A new hangar and learning facility for youth aviation education broke ground Oct. 27 at SRQ Airport, WWSB reported. The facility will house the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 180 and its Teen Aircraft Factory of Manasota (TAFM), a program where local teens assemble two-seat aircraft under the guidance of volunteer mentors.

Chapter leaders said the community aviation center has been 16 years in the making.

Phase one of the project, which includes the hangar, should be complete within the next few months, according to EAA Chapter 180 leaders. Fundraising to support and expand the learning facility is underway.

The program already has a track record. Jack Mungillo, a former TAFM participant, is now a lead quality engineer for Honeywell Aerospace. "I went up on my first flight, and they showed me the aircraft they were building. It was incredible stuff … I don't think I even considered aviation before this program," Mungillo told WWSB.

Paul Hoback, president and CEO of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, said the goal is to build a pipeline of future aviation professionals. "We are trying to create that pipeline that will really get inspired and passionate and talented young children and teens and young adults involved in the aviation industry," Hoback said.

According to the TAFM website, students meet each Saturday to work on RV-12 aircraft. Mentors bring more than 150 combined years of aviation experience. The program has completed six airplanes, with a seventh having received its FAA airworthiness inspection and an eighth underway. Completed aircraft are now located near Tampa, Albuquerque, Fort Lauderdale, Raleigh and Sarasota.

EAA Chapter 180 also runs a Young Eagles Program that offers free flights to area youth on the second Saturday of each month at Universal Flight at SRQ Airport.