Top Gun

Solve a problem in your shop - Through the addition of a "capstone module," you and your Top Gun student will select a complex industry problem that exists within your company, and your student will transfer technical skills and critical thinking acquired in the Top Gun Academy to solve this problem.

Constant feedback -- You and your student's Top Gun instructor will be involved every step of the way as your student works toward the conclusion . . . the presentation of the solution to your company's problem made to you, fellow students, and Top Gun faculty!

Schedule change - Class meetings have been reduced to one night per week, and no summer session, to allow quality time for family and friends.

Original Top Gun advanced competencies continue:

Drawing Interpretation
Job Processing
Quality
CNC Milling
Mill Programming

Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Are YOU doing business today the same as you did five years ago? Have you made changes with training and education that you've made with equipment?

More is expected of you by your customers; consequently, you expect more of your employees. Your employees must be diverse; they must handle more things and confront more varied situations. Your shop has fewer employees; those that remain must be equipped to think for themselves.

The Top Gun Academy is not a continuation of STEP II. The Top Gun Academy is for your "almost best" to make them the best!

You, as shop owners and floor supervisors, can't afford to pass up this opportunity offered by your DTMA and Sinclair Community College!

Be part of a groundbreaking new program that will affect the future of the Miami Valley's tooling and machining industry.

This is an advanced level, critical-thinking course designed to elevate good technicians to top performers -- Top Guns.

The program consists of four modules -- three foundational modules and two specialized modules:

Each module is offered consecutively. Classes meet one evening a week on the Sinclair campus. Regular Sinclair tuition rates apply -- approximately $45 per hour per credit hour for Montgomery County residents; each module is three college credit hours.

Top Guns are top performers in their respective field. They eagerly explore and exploit the limits of processes and technologies. They are motivated to meet and exceed quality, delivery, and productivity goals. They anticipate downstream problems and, through good planning, prevent their occurrence. They possess good critical thinking skills and develop effective recovery strategies when dealing with unforeseen problems.

Good technicians who have the potential to be the best technicians. Students need to meet the following prerequisite criteria:

Tim Friedmann, a Top Gun graduate and machinist at Triangle Precision, offers the following testimony about the program: "One of the elements that I found most beneficial was the opportunity to network with machinists from other companies and learn, from their perspectives, new approaches to solving problems."

To create high-level technical leaders for the industry. Historically knowledge has passed from generation to generation through work experiences and mentoring by top toolmakers/machinists. Unfortunately, these individuals are rarely good communicators or teachers. With the Top Gun Academy, the industry will be able to expose select workers to a consistent curriculum of the highest level in their respective fields.

Students will develop the following competencies after successfully completing each module:

You want your employees to increase their skill by attending training and education programs. But wouldn't it be easier for you if your employees came to you requesting to attend the Top Gun Tooling and Machining Academy? We want to launch a promotion campaign geared toward employees.

To do this, we need to build a database of student prospects so that we can mail information about the Academy directly to their homes. We need your help to build this database with names of people who meet the Top Gun criteria.

name and address information will be used exclusively for promoting the Top Gun Academy. Please send it to DTMA via fax (937-512-3224) or email (generalinfo@dtma.org)

Recruiting Top Gun Academy Students

Class Starts Each September

The Top Gun Tooling and Machining Academy starts a class each September -- it's not too early to start talking to your employees. The Academy, a combined effort of Sinclair, the AIM Center, and DTMA, is designed to offset the shortage of highly skilled technicians for the tooling and machining industry.

The Top Gun Academy is an advanced level, critical thinking course designed to elevate your good technicians into top performers. This level of training is not available anywhere else in the country. Participants earn college credit for each module.

The course consists of five modules - three foundational modules, one specialized module, and one "capstone" module. Modules are offered consecutively, following Sinclair's standard quarter schedule. Classes meet one evening a week for three hours on the Sinclair campus. Regular Sinclair tuition rates apply ($45 per credit hour for Montgomery County residents); each module is three credit hours.

This course is for your good technicians who have the potential to be your best technicians. Graduates of the Academy are saying great things about the program!

For registration or detailed information about the Top Gun Tooling and Machining Academy, contact the DTMA office at (937) 512-3862 or generalinfo@dtma.org.

The Top Gun Tooling and Machining Academy, an advanced level, critical thinking program at Sinclair Community College designed to elevate good tooling and machining technicians into top performers, has received the endorsement of the National Tooling and Machining Association.

Word of the endorsement came from Dick Walker, NTMA’s Director of Education. “The National Tooling and Machining Association endorses the Top Gun Academy instructional modules for use by programs wishing to provide advanced or “masters level” experiences to tooling and manufacturing technicians beyond the traditional apprenticeship or associate degree/technical certificate level.”

“This is really big news for us,” said Dr. George Sehi, Sinclair Dean of Engineering and Industrial Technologies. “What this means is that a program Sinclair developed, in cooperation with the Dayton Tooling and Machining Association, to help Miami Valley companies, is now a model for the rest of the country.”

“Historically, tooling and machining skills have been passed from generation to generation through work experiences and a mentoring process. Unfortunately, these individuals are seldom good communicators or teachers. With this program our industry is able to expose select employees to a consistent curriculum of the highest level in their respective fields,” said Angelia Erbaugh, Executive Director of The Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association (DTMA).

Tim Friedmann, a Top Gun graduate and machinist at Triangle Precision, said he benefited from the program. “One of the elements that I found most beneficial was the opportunity to network with machinists from other companies and learn from their perspectives to solving a problem. The Top Gun Academy challenged me to refine my critical thinking skills.”

To learn more about the Top Gun Academy, call Shep Anderson at (937) 512-2378 or the DTMA at