FedEx gives jet to N.C. college aviation program.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- A community-college aviation program now has its own jet, courtesy of FedEx.

The express carrier delivered a Boeing 727-100 to Guilford Technical Community College for use in its aviation program. The 108-foot-long jet is the largest plane in the college fleet, which already has 10 Pipers, Cessnas and other single- and twin-engine commuter and general aviation planes that carry six or fewer people.

Aspiring mechanics will use the jet to learn how to find and fix problems on a large plane, and student pilots will get a close look at the complex cockpit controls. The program operates at Piedmont Triad International Airport, where FedEx is building a cargo hub.

GTCC officials said the plane will help students become better prepared to work at TIMCO Aviation Services, the local aircraft maintenance company, and other major commercial and cargo airlines.

FedEx is planning to open its hub in 2009.

"The logistics of working oil a larger aircraft is a world of difference." aviation maintenance instructor Tim Culbreth said.

On a plane this size, he said "you can have 50 people working on an airplane. On the others, two guys might get in each other's way."

GTCC got the plane because FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx, is replacing some of its smaller and older aircraft with bigger, newer planes. The company has donated three others to community colleges in Florida and Tennessee.

This 727 was built in 1966 and started hauling passengers for United Airlines a year later. FedEx bought it from another airline in 1987 and converted it to a cargo plane. In 37 years, the plane, named "Destiny" after the daughter of a former FedEx employee, spent more than 53,000 hours in the air and made 40,422 landings, including the one to GTCC.

After its final landing, the plane taxied through an arch of water sprayed by, two airport fire trucks--a water salute that is traditional for planes on their last journey.