Careers

When a person thinks about making a career change and starting fresh in a new industry, one of the primary concerns is having to learn an entirely new skillset. But as Charlie Precourt, General Manager of Propulsion Systems at Orbital ATK, told Rod McDermott in the second installment of our Jobs in Aviation series, that […]

How does a person outside of the field of aviation break into this industry and begin a career? That’s the question posed to EAA Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton this week, as the 2017 AirVenture show is underway in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It’s an important question, obviously, as this industry is constantly changing and growing, and […]

A factory demonstration pilot, or “demo” pilot, travels the world, showcasing airplanes to prospective customers and their representatives. Manager of Textron Aviation’s ProOwnership program, Brandy Hearting — herself a former demo pilot for the company’s piston, turboprop and turbine products — hires pilots who may transition into these positions. She explains this exciting career. What […]

It wasn’t until Kim Ewing Gill’s aunt and uncle invited her to hit the skies in their glider that she realized she had a bright future in aviation. “It was like going from seeing the world in black and white to seeing the world in color,” she says of the initial experience, and that was […]

Today, Jennifer Henderson is an engineering project pilot for the 787 with the Boeing Company, but her passion for aviation began during her childhood in southern Maryland. She grew up next to a naval base watching planes take off and land, and when her father took her to air shows, she knew that she wanted […]

Airborne law enforcement (ALE) officers work within police and other agencies’ aviation units, using aircraft to conduct and assist operations, ranging from routine patrols to search-and-rescue (SAR). The Department of Justice estimates about 350 of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. use airborne assets daily, but many don’t disclose aircraft and personnel numbers […]

For Trae Lefan’s 15th birthday, his parents got him a discovery flight in a Cessna 172, and that was all he needed to realize that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Today, the father of two is an airline pilot with ExpressJet, and while the road to becoming […]

“It totally changed my life,” Genesah Duffy says of her first flight. “The best experience I’ve ever had.” She was 25 when she took a discovery flight in a Cessna 172 out of St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, and from there she was hooked. Genesah started out as a parts manager at Propellerhead Aviation, and she […]

When Jon Suddreth was a child, his father was a firefighter, working 24-hour shifts at a station near an airport. He spent a lot of time at that station, and so he watched his fair share of airplanes take off and land. Naturally, that stuck with him as he grew, and when he was fresh […]

When Tasman Carnes was seven-years-old, he wanted to be a boat captain, despite flying already being embedded in his DNA. His great-grandfather was issued Florida’s first pilot’s license, and he was also the first man to greet Charles Lindbergh when he returned from his legendary solo flight. But Tasman’s heart was set on piloting boats […]