Aviation Flight and Management Opportunities

So far, through guest speakers and discussions, we have explored airlines, the cargo industry, airport management, air traffic control and a little but of general aviation. I would like you to explore some of the other sectors of aviation by answering the following questions:

1) Find a corporate aviation department. Give basic details about the company, including both flight and management opportunities for employment. List any current jobs that may be available with that company.

Before I can expound upon the Corporate Aviation department/company I selected for the purposes of this post, I am compelled to explain what Corporate aviation is and what it entails. By definition, Corporate aviation (also commonly referred to as Business aviation) is the use of aircraft by companies for the transport of passengers or goods for business purposes. The aircraft used in Corporate aviation operations are generally not available for public hire (McMurchie 2016). According to McMurchie (2016), the primary purpose Corporate aviation serves is to meet the needs of businesses (or business professionals) that utilize personal air transportation to travel from point A to B. Corporate aviation is unique in this regard because said businesses and business professionals utilize personal air transportation (usually small twin-engine aircraft and/or helicopters) as opposed to utilizing commercial air carriers for their traveling needs. The primary reason why Corporate aviation has gained an immense amount of popularity, specifically with businesses and associated professionals, is because of the ‘travel freedom’, flexibility, and convenience it provides them. In comparison to traveling via commercial air, which can cause unnecessary inconveniences, stress, and not to mention, does not allow much flight scheduling flexibility, Corporate aviation is ideal for businesses and business professionals who are ‘frequent flyers’ and possess irregular schedules.

As I mentioned previously, Corporate aviation is often called and/or synonymous with Business aviation. That said, Business aviation is defined as the use of any “general aviation” aircraft for a business purpose. Furthermore, the FAA defines General Aviation as all flights that are not conducted by the military or the scheduled airlines (i.e. Part 121 operators) (National Business Aviation Association [NBAA], 2017). Thereby, Corporate aviation is a facet of the General Aviation sector, which focuses on the business use of aircraft and helicopters. One of the most prominent and notable supporters and promoters of Corporate/Business aviation is the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). According to the NBAA (2017), the NBAA was founded in 1947, is based in Washington, D.C., and their purpose is to foster an environment that allows business (corporate) aviation to thrive within the United States and worldwide. Holistically speaking, the purpose of the NBAA is to lead the business/corporate sector of aviation in addition to supporting and promoting other General Aviation aircraft (or companies) to enhance their overall efficiency, productivity, safety, and success.

The Corporate aviation company I chose to focus this post on is Corporate Eagle. Corporate Eagle is a Michigan-based Corporate (Business) aviation company that was founded in 1982, by Rick Nini and another individual. Before founding Corporate Eagle, Rick Nini was a corporate pilot, and now he is the present-day President and CEO of the company (Corporate Eagle 2017). Corporate Eagle is the largest and longest-serving provider of fractional and managed business aviation in the state of Michigan. According to Corporate Eagle (2017), their vision is to create an exemplary experience for members, every time, without compromise. Corporate Eagle is a Southeast Michigan-based company composed of 57 full-time aviation professionals, 31 of which are pilots. Corporate Eagle initially started as a partnership known as Tradewinds Aircraft Sales, whose purpose was to purchase and sell used, light aircraft in 1980. In 1982, the partnership incorporated, becoming Tradewinds Aviation, Inc.; following the incorporation, the company acquired a (financially) struggling flight school known as Great Lakes Aero. It was with this acquisition of said flight school that the initial ‘vision’ or mission to become a top-tier aviation operation and the largest provider within Southeast Michigan was born (Corporate Eagle 2017). Three years later in 1985, Rick Nini transitioned out of his corporate piloting career to became the President of Tradewinds Aviation Inc. In 2008, Tradewinds Aviation Inc., was renamed to Corporate Eagle Management Services, Inc., or Corporate Eagle for short. According to Corporate Eagle (2017), the purpose of the name change was to better reflect the company’s service and vision for the future in efforts to adequately meet the increasing demand for the fractional share program. The most recent accomplishment and stride in the corporate sector and aviation industry the company has made occurred in 2015, with the launch of its first Falcon 200 fractional program aircraft.

Since Corporate Eagle is a prominent company with the Corporate/Business sector of aviation in addition to being both a supporter and promoter of General Aviation, the company always has job opportunities available, which are not only posted on their website, but are also disseminated to numerous collegiate aviation programs. Corporate Eagle offers employment opportunities for both aviation flight and management students, which are usually sent to the respective majors via email by the program advisor. Additionally, Corporate Eagle makes their various employment opportunities available during their attendance at collegiate career fairs. Last year (and I presume this year as well), Corporate Eagle (along with 40-50 other aviation organizations) were present at Western Michigan University’s (WMU) career fair, which is better known as ‘Aviation Outlook Day’. The purpose of ‘Aviation Outlook Day’ is to help students connect with various aviation organizations and professionals, discuss career options, and learn about the needs of the industry while having fun doing it (Western Michigan University [WMU], 2017). During this time, representatives from both the flight and management side of the company are present and talk to students about their future career goals, the company’s available employment opportunities, and even offer on-the-spot interviews for said opportunities. There are currently two employment opportunities (one for flight students and one for management students) being offered by Corporate Eagle, of which can be found on their website (and on WMU’s job blog). The two employment opportunities being offered as follows:

The employment opportunity suited more towards aviation management students is as follows:

·      Job Title: Aviation Company Parts and Supplies Purchasing Agent

o   Position Summary:

§  Our business is growing rapidly. We will be soon adding more aircraft to our fleet and are now seeking additional individuals to join our team.  Our fleet currently consists of 14 aircraft (3 x King Air B200, 1 Hawker 700, 4 x 800XP, 1 Hawker 900XP and 5 x Falcon 2000) with operations based at Oakland County International Airport (KPTK)

o   Responsibilities/Duties:

§  Purchasing parts and supplies for Corporate Eagle’s fleet of aircraft

§  Purchasing office and company supplies as needed

§  Maintain a clean and neat and organized parts room

§  Maintain accurate count of all parts and supplies

§  Maintain OSHA compliance an MSDS manuals

o   Location: Waterford, MI

o   Minimum Qualifications:

§  Great Plains accounting software knowledge

§  Computer and IT knowledge a plus

§  Must have a clean driving record

§  Must pass Drug and Alcohol screening

§  Must pass a criminal background check

The employment opportunity suited more towards aviation flight students is as follows:

·      Job Title: Flight Crewmember (First Officer)

o   Position Summary:

§  Our business is growing rapidly. We will be soon adding more aircraft to our fleet and are now seeking additional individuals to join our team of professional pilots for flight duty in unscheduled FARs 91K and 135 operations. Our fleet currently consists of 14 aircraft (3 x King Air B200, 1 x Hawker 700A, 4 x Hawker 800XP, 1 x Hawker 900XP and 4 x Falcon 2000) with operations based at Oakland County International Airport (KPTK). Responsibilities will include flight and ground duty as required flight crewmember (Second-In-Command) in domestic and international operations. Essential attributes candidate(s) must possess include the ability to provide exceptional personal concierge services to our private Members, maintain a high level of technical competence and professionalism, and perform nominal office duties as required/directed. Advancement to Captain occurs based on a scheduled pilot performance-based progression plan. All flight crewmembers are cross-qualified in two of the three types of aircraft we operate. Initial equipment training may be in any of the three aircraft types operated (dependent on immediate need), with training in a second type to follow six months later.

o   Location: Waterford, MI

o   Minimum Qualifications:

§  College Graduate

§  Bachelor’s Degree Pilot Certificate and Ratings

§  Commercial Pilot Certificate

§  Instrument Rating

§  Multi-Engine Rating 

§  Flight Instructor

§  Single Engine (airplane)

§  Instrument (airplane)

§  Multi-Engine (airplane)

§  FAA Second Class Medical Certificate (with ability to obtain First Class)

§  Flight Experience:

·      Total Time ≈ 1000 hours

·      Dual Given ≈ 250 hours

§  Other miscellaneous requirements:

·      Passport

·      FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit

o   Preferred Qualifications:

§  College Graduate or Bachelor’s Degree

§  Aviation/Aeronautics related Major Pilot Certificates and Ratings

§  Airline Transport Pilot Certificate (or ATP written test and ability to immediately take Practical Test for ATP Certificate)

§  Flight Instructor or Single Engine (airplane) o Instrument (airplane) or Multi-Engine (airplane)

§  FAA First Class Medical Certificate (with ability to maintain) Flight Experience

§  Total Time ≈ 1200 hours • Dual Given o ≈ 500 hours ▪ Primary & Advanced ▪ ≈ 50-hour Multi-Engine

§  Other miscellaneous requirements:
• Passport
• FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit

The aforementioned employment opportunities offered by Corporate Eagle were provided by and retrieved from websites operated by Corporate Eagle (2017) and Western Michigan University (2017); additional information pertaining to them can be found in the references section below.

3) For management students, describe a job that could be potential employment opportunities for you in the general aviation sector.

As opposed to the aviation flight students whose employment opportunities primarily emphasize in-flight operations or ‘flight-line’ responsibilities, there are a vast number of employment opportunities that aviation management students can pursue within the General Aviation sector. The aviation management major tends to provide more job flexibility and options than the flight major. For instance, as a management major, I can seek employment opportunities pertaining to aviation operations such as an Aircraft Dispatcher, Air Traffic Controller, or Crew Scheduler. As I stated earlier, the NBAA is an instrumental supporter and promoter of both Corporate/Business and General aviation. As a promoter of this sector, the NBAA posts yearly internships that are available for both flight and management students, which usually begin in May or June and last until August.

That said, a position that could transpire into a potential employment opportunity for me within the General aviation sector is as a Summer Operations Intern for the NBAA. The Summer Operations Intern is a full-time position, who reports to the Senior Manager of Security and Facilitation, is located in Washington D.C., and plays an integral role in the Operations division of the NBAA. According to the NBAA (2017), the purpose of the Operations Intern is to provide an undergraduate college student who possesses an interest in business (corporate) aviation with exposure to the various facets of NBAA operations. The primary role of the intern is to assist subject matter experts with research activities on regulatory and technical issues related to the operation of business aircraft in addition to performing other administrative tasks pertinent to business operations. Other essential duties and responsibilities associated with the internship position include, but are not limited to, the following:

·      Research with legislative, regulatory, technical, and aviation information to assist with responding to member inquiries or creating new resources for the NBAA website

·      Assists with special projects, including research and analysis of flight operations data, surveys of members and NBAA committee projects/deliverables

·      Assists Operations division with special projects as needed

·      Participates in customer service initiatives

·      Reviews NBAA website content for accuracy and makes suggestions for potential updates with direction from Operations division staff

There are several additional essential duties and responsibilities expected of the position, but the aforementioned responsibilities provide a sufficient scope of the day-to-day duties. The desired qualifications of an applicant consist of said applicant having business aviation experience in a flight department or charter operation, possessing an FAA private pilot or aircraft dispatcher’s certificate, and be an aviation major. Since I meet and/or exceed all the required and desired qualifications and have ample experience working for a Part 121 carrier, I strongly believe that this is a job that could transpire into a potential career (employment) opportunity if I am selected for the position.

An additional position I feel could transpire into a potential employment opportunity for me within the General aviation sector is as a Summer Conferences and Seminars Intern for the NBAA. The Summer Conferences and Seminars Intern is a full-time position, who reports to the Senior Manager of Conferences and Seminars, is located in Washington D.C., and plays an integral role in the Operations division, specifically supporting the Conferences and Seminars sector of the NBAA. According to the NBAA (2017), the purpose of the Conferences and Seminars Intern is to provide an undergraduate or graduate college student with exposure to the various aspects of working in a trade association. The Conferences and Seminars intern will work primarily with the NBAA’s Operations division to support the Senior Manager of Conferences and Seminars in addition to assisting in the completion of projects for other divisions. Other essential duties and responsibilities associated with the internship position include, but are not limited to, the following:

·      Provide administrative support to the Operations division

·      Coordinate request for proposal documents for conference hotels, city searches and/or AV needs

·      Order promotional items and supplies for events

·      Assist with the coordination of committee meetings

·      Provide research for future year budgeting

There are several additional essential duties and responsibilities expected of the position, but the aforementioned responsibilities provide a sufficient scope of the day-to-day duties. The only desired qualification consists of having experience in creating and/or editing promotional video content. Since I meet and/or exceed all the required and desired qualifications and have ample experience working for a Part 121 carrier, I strongly believe that this a job that could transpire into a potential career (employment) opportunity if I am selected for the position.

Both of the previously mentioned employment opportunities excite me because they are encompassed within the business/corporate aviation sector and are heavily associated with the NBAA. I am also excited because both positions appear to be very interesting and would provide me with the opportunity to network with aviation professionals and political officials in Washington D.C., which is an experience in and of itself. These opportunities, let alone anything the General aviation sector has to offer (especially those in Washington D.C.), appear to be extremely promising with respects to career perpetuation and longevity, ergo another reason why I am excited and feel they could transpire into potential employment opportunities. That said, I will more than likely pursue all the employment opportunities the NBAA has to offer with hopes of attaining at least one. If I am selected for a position, it would be a phenomenal way to end the winter semester and start my summer.

All the information related to the duties and responsibilities associated with the two previously mentioned employment opportunities were provided courtesy of the NBAA (2017); any additional information pertaining to them can be found within the references section below.

5) For management students, find two positions other than GA, airlines, airport management or corporate that you may be qualified for upon graduation.

Aside from General Aviation, the airlines, airport management, or corporate aviation that I may be qualified for upon graduation are a Remote Pilot Operator and Air Traffic Services intern.

The Remote Pilot Operator position is offered by a company named SAIC, located in Minneapolis, MN, and is a part-time position for the day-shift. The Remote Pilot Operator (RPO) job entails the operator utilizing a combination of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), keyboard, and voice communication system (VCS) to simulate the actions and communication of pilots and remote ATC facilities during medium and high-fidelity training exercises. Additionally, RPOs receive voice commands from students input proper entries into the automated system to simulate pilot actions, translate displayed information into the appropriate ATC terminology, and respond to the operator via VCS (SAIC 2017). According to (SAIC 2017), to satisfy the basic qualifications for this position, a candidate must possess a high school diploma, demonstrate a minimum keyboard speed of 40wpm with 90% accuracy, the ability to read and interpret materials such as diagrams and manuals, and be able to speak clearly. The operator would work in air traffic facilities of varying sizes to safely separate more than 50,000 aircraft in and throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) each day. To ensure adequate training and efficiency as an air traffic service provider, the FAA trains new air traffic control specialists and provides recurrent training to said specialists to ensure proficiency.

An additional position I may be qualified for upon graduation is an internship offered by the NBAA, but is focused entirely on Air Traffic Services. According to the NBAA (2017), the purpose of the Air Traffic Services position is to provide an undergraduate college student with exposure to the various facets of Air Traffic Services holistically and within the NBAA. Primarily, the Air Traffic Services intern will assist with the day-to-day functions and air traffic issues that impact NBAA member companies as well as gain exposure to vast FAA and NBAA computer programs in efforts to gain proficiency working the National Airspace System. Upon completion of the internship, said student will possess a solid foundation and working knowledge of traffic flow management and the Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) process (NBAA 2017). The location of this internship is in an actual FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) in Warrenton, VA. The desired qualifications an applicant should have wanting this positon include business aviation experience (in a flight department or charter operation), an FAA private pilot certificate or dispatcher’s license, and a major in aviation (preferably in an ATC or aircraft dispatch program). Since I meet and/or exceed all the desired qualifications and have a moderate interest in ATC, this position is a viable opportunity that I am qualified for.

6) For both flight and management students, has this assignment changed your current plans? Why or why not?

In all honesty, this assignment has not changed my current and/or post-graduation plans. I say this assignment has not changed my current plans because prior to completing this assignment I already knew and possessed a solid plan as to what my post-graduation plans/intentions were. In fact, I have been working on solidifying said plans since the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year. Thereby, since the start of the Winter 2017 semester, my plans have only altered slightly, but the sequence of events have not. However, I can say this assignment was beneficial as it allowed me to explore other areas of interest and unearth new information pertinent to the industry I would not have known or learned otherwise. This assignment also provided me with the opportunity to further research viable corporate/business companies and the employment opportunities they are offering to college students like myself, namely Corporate Eagle and the NBAA. I always possessed an interest in the corporate/business sector of aviation and would like to begin my career as a First Officer (FO) for a company similar to Corporate Eagle or Amway Aviation. The corporate/business sector of aviation has always intrigued me because of the sleekly unique aircraft, hospitable environment, and various travel locations (both domestic and international) it offers pilots.

My current post-graduation plans include beginning my MBA program at Central Michigan University in the summer (ideally in August/September) with hopes of completing it in one calendar year. Additionally, I plan to obtain employment with either Kalitta Air, USAJet, or a legacy carrier as an Aircraft Dispatcher to utilize my certificate, or as a management (operations) intern with an emphasis on Safety or Flight. Once I secure employment within one of the three previously mentioned air carriers, I plan to gain experience within the Part 121/135 environment and progress to attain an upper-level management positon such as the Director of Operations (DOO). Furthermore, I plan to work both my current job and any aviation-related intern position I am offered while going to graduate school so I can amass funds to continue my flight training and earn the remainder of my ratings. As I anticipate this process of earning money and ratings will take three to five years, I will gain the necessary experience, knowledge, and contacts within the industry to ensure a relatively easy transition into an FO position within the corporate/business sector, which is where I plan to retire. Therefore, to serve as a synopsis of my post-graduation plans (within the next 12-36 months), I plan to start my MBA program at CMU, obtain an internship at a Part 121/135 air carrier to gain experience, and continue my flight training so I can transition into the flight deck of a corporate carrier. Thus, albeit this assignment was both refreshing and interesting as it allowed me to extensively research opportunities outside of the ones covered by this course previously, my current (post-graduate) plans have not been altered.

References required. Most likely, they will be links to the companies.

References

Corporate Eagle. (2017). A history of excellence. Corporate Eagle. Retrieved from http://www.corporateeagle.com/

McMurchie, J. (2016). What is Corporate Aviation. eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_6849315_corporate-aviation_.html

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). (2017). Career opportunities: summer intern, air traffic services (381). NBAA. Retrieved from https://career4.successfactors.com/career?career%5fns=job%5flisting&company=nbaa&navBarLevel=JOB%5fSEARCH&rcm%5fsite%5flocale=en%5fUS&career_job_req_id=381&selected_lang=en_US&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&_s.crb=66ABaHFQMsBBlils9HAkOHCjORE%3d

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). (2017). Career opportunities: summer intern, conferences and seminars (401). NBAA. Retrieved from

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). (2017). Career opportunities: summer intern, operations (301). NBAA. Retrieved from https://career4.successfactors.com/career?career%5fns=job%5flisting&company=nbaa&navBarLevel=JOB%5fSEARCH&rcm%5fsite%5flocale=en%5fUS&career_job_req_id=401&selected_lang=en_US&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&_s.crb=cTewO7gUyUVWMBdxWwgU2%2bks0Ko%3d https://career4.successfactors.com/career?career%5fns=job%5flisting&company=nbaa&navBarLevel=JOB%5fSEARCH&rcm%5fsite%5flocale=en%5fUS&career_job_req_id=301&selected_lang=en_US&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&_s.crb=bS72kMVGTzDW1yB7qrU219cXHqI%3d

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). (2017). What is Business Aviation. National Business Aviation Association. Retrieved from https://www.nbaa.org/business-aviation/

SAIC. (2017). Remote pilot operator. SAIC. Retrieved from https://jobs.saic.com/job/Minneapolis-%28MSP%29-Remote-Pilot-Operator-M98-Job-MN-55401/391204500/?feedId=4&utm_source=Indeed

Western Michigan University (WMU). (2017). Aviation Outlook Day. College of Aviation. Retrieved from https://wmich.edu/aviation/jobs/aviationoutlookday

Western Michigan University (WMU). (2017). Newest postings!. Western Michigan University. Retrieved from http://hubspot.aviation.wmich.edu/jobs-scholarships-and-internship-postings