What began as a small gathering on the back patio of a bed-and-breakfast in Provincetown, Massachusetts, has grown into one the largest aviation networking and pilot recruiting events in the U.S.
For the past 12 years, the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) has hosted its Industry Expo, a place where aviators and aspiring professionals can connect with everything from major airlines to businesses that support the aviation community.
NGPA is celebrating its 35th anniversary. This year, more than 2,700 people, the most to date, attended the event on February 5-6 in Palm Springs, California.
“After that very first expo, we knew right away, this was going to be something big,” said NGPA executive director Justin Ellixson-Andrews, who has served in the role for three years. “So our volunteer events committee went to work on how we can grow this event and bring it to a larger scale and open it up to more attendees.”
The expo was not just for members of the LGBTQ+ community but open to everyone.
“What we are part of is a shared community, opening opportunities, breaking down barriers, and just making sure people have a home here at the NGPA who can share their experiences and consider their backgrounds and just find some commonality, find community, find opportunities to network and mentor and pay it forward for the next generation,” Ellixson-Andrews said.
Among the organizations in attendance was GoJet Airlines, a regional carrier that flies CRJ550s for United Airlines. GoJet president and CEO Rick Leach was on hand along with the company’s recruiting team.
“We’ve traveled with [them] for over four years at these events throughout the year, and it is a very important investment for us, in our time and in our resources,” Leach said. “And it paid huge dividends. We now have people not going like, ‘Tell me about GoJet,’ but, ‘I want to come to GoJet. You’re at the top of my list.’”
Leach said NGPA and other associations help create a pool of talented aviators, keeping the industry healthy.
“For me to just have the opportunity to meet with these aviators that are beginning their journey or even those that are in their journey, they’re in their professions already, and maybe give them a little bit of nuggets of some of the wisdom I’ve gained throughout my many decades in the business,” he said. “It motivates me. It reminds me why I’m still here after 45 years. That’s why I’m still excited about being part of this industry.”
Flexjet, a private company that offers fractional ownership and private leases, was another organization in attendance that offered pilots the chance to connect with the company.
“I love it. I think it’s awesome,” said Flexjet Captain Wade Mayorga. “And I have this feeling that I get to be proud to be a gay pilot, which like in the industry, you lose it a little bit. So to be at something like this and feel like, wow, like I’m not the only one. It feels good.”
It was Mayorda’s first time at the expo and his first recruiting event with Flexjet. He said the whole team loves the event and believes in doing the best it can to hire more pilots from the expo.
“I’m meeting a lot of people, seeing people that I haven’t seen in years,” Mayorga said.
NGPA continues to experience rapid growth, from a couple hundred members to now more than 5,000, according to Ellixson-Andrews. There are more than 50 NGPA chapters across the country as well as several international affiliates. The executive director said he believes in organic growth, and the local chapters are an opportunity to connect with members on a daily basis.
“We’ve got chapters that are hosting, not just socials and happy hours, but industry-exclusive opportunities, behind-the-scenes tours of operations, of MRO facilities, air traffic control facilities, you name it, across the gamut,” Ellixson-Andrews said. “We’ve got so many exciting things going on at our local chapters.”
Ellixson-Andrews said the feedback they get centers on the importance of connections and the impact of mentorships.
“Aviation is such a tight-knit industry, and as global as we are, it really takes a group of folks that are really well connected and working toward a common goal to make everything work,” he said.
In addition to connecting professionals, NGPA also helps aspiring aviators overcome financial barriers. Ellixson-Andrews said it started off with two $4,000 scholarships in the early 1990s and has grown to more than $3 million, and the organization offered nearly $700,000 in scholarships this year.
“Our early founders were really forward thinking [about] how can we support the next generation of aviators and not only break down the social barriers to the flight deck but also the financial barriers to the flight deck,” Ellixson-Andrews said.
Leach said being involved in organizations should be automatic and to find one that represents your beliefs.
“The opportunities that they offer are just vast,” he said. “And to just participate in organizations also shows your future employer your investment in the industry, and not just dropping off your résumé and trying to go through the motions, but you’ve done more to sort of raise your value and raise your interest to show your commitment to your career and your profession,” he said.
For those looking to join or move into the aviation industry, Mayorga’s advice was to just keep going.
“Sometimes it feels like you’re never going to get there, or it feels so far away, or things change,” he said. “But that’s good and bad because things change, but they change tomorrow, and the doors can open up and everything can flood. So you just kind of have to keep having faith.”
The next Winter Warm-up & Industry Expo has been scheduled for a return to Palm Springs in February 2027.
