Rider Jet Center Hosts 20th Aviation Education & Career Expo, Drawing About 1,100 Students and Nearly $300,000 in Scholarships
Why It MattersFBOs are increasingly acting as direct recruiting and training pipelines, using hangar-scale events to address the persistent shortage of pilots and maintenance technicians across business aviation.
The 20th annual Aviation Education & Career Expo took place on Nov. 6, 2026, at Rider Jet Center in Hagerstown, Md., bringing together about 1,100 high school and college-age students from across the mid-Atlantic region with industry representatives. Rider Jet Center, a full-service Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at Hagerstown Regional Airport, has hosted the event for the past three years, converting part of a hangar into an auditorium for presentations and into vendor booths for one-on-one consultations. With about 65 vendors, organizers describe it as the largest event of its kind in the mid-Atlantic.
This year's theme was "Dreams with Wings," and several sponsors provided just under $300,000 in scholarships. Students heard from aviation professionals and from former scholarship winner Brinnay Nickola, who began her journey through scholarships from the expo. Rider Jet Center President and CEO Ben Rider said the company was pleased to give young people exposure to aviation careers while helping them financially toward their educational goals.
The Unmanned Safety Institute, exhibiting for the sixth year, offered two $4,500 scholarships: one for a remote operator pathway and one for a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) maintenance technician pathway. Chantilly Air Jet Center representatives said they were recruiting employees and interns for roles including pilots, mechanics, line service technicians, customer service, accounting and scheduler/dispatchers, citing industry shortages of pilots and maintenance technicians. Kevin Honan of Nimble represented client and expo sponsor Paragon Aviation Group.
Washington County Commissioners President John Barr attended the opening exercises, and expo co-founder Julie O'Brien said this year's expo was one of the best ever. Rider Jet Center offers on-site jet and propeller maintenance and was named Top FBO in the United States for overall service by Aerospace and Defense Review.
