Careers

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 […]

When Timothy Fonseca was 5 years old, he knew he wanted to be a pilot. He founded Millennial Wings to share his love of aviation with other young people. Watch Fonseca and other young adults in the group enjoy a day of flying and fun during a recent outing in Florida. Are you a millennial […]

Aircraft designers and aeronautical engineers (the distinction between the two is unimportant within the industry) use cutting-edge materials, systems and processes, along with their ingenuity, to create and improve aerial vehicles. Rob Wolz, director of project engineering for Advanced Aircraft Programs at Gulfstream Aerospace, currently overseeing the G500/600 program; Peter Sturdza, deputy chief engineer at […]