Professional Associations

What do I want to do when I grow up? Well, I want to become an airport manager somewhere quiet, calm and pristine. This may not happen over night, so I will have to begin building a name in the industry. How else better to do that than join some professional associations.

I believe that two of the most important associations I could be a part of would be the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).

I believe it is important to be a part of AAAE because they are very involved in legislative debate and are advocates of airport executives. It is their mission to better serve airport executives by providing better products, services and Washington representation. They have grown to be one of the biggest professional trade associations and has proven results in Washington.

The AOPA is a very important association to be a part of because I am a pilot myself and when I am an airport manager, I will need to know what the customers I am serving are thinking and what they are concerned about. The AOPA values Initiative, Teamwork, Service, Integrity and Excellence. They advocate on behalf of their members on many issues in Washington and also use education to ensure the long-term health of General Aviation. I believe that the AOPA is a great organization for me to get a good understanding of my customers.

Although associations are important, I believe the function of continuing education in our industry is the greatest benefit that these associations provide. I encourage all aviation professionals and those who want to become aviation professionals to seek out the association that is right for what you want to accomplish. Strength in numbers…..

Flying Cheap and Professionalism

When I finally enter the aviation industry after retiring from the Navy, I want to be the airport manager for Oscoda County Airport. The airport manager here is responsible for very little as far as operations goes.  Only just recently they put in fuel service and a paved runway.  Before this it was merely a grass strip that saw very little traffic and no economic contribution to the community.  One of the concerns that I have if I become the airport manager is safety.  I believe that it is my responsibility to keep the field operational and safe. In this area, wildlife creates an interesting challenge for me.  I will have to be very conscientious of this problem as the airport manager. This is a manageable risk, but one that would require my attention.  This may seam like a far stretch for someone with a degree in aviation management but it will definitely require professionalism either way.

Professionalism in my opinion is the way an individual acts when they have respect for themselves, good morals and feelings of strong social responsibility.  When someone has these traits, they can and normally do, carry themselves in a professional light.  When I watched the PBS Special "Flying Cheap," I clearly saw that the pilots involved in that accident were unprofessional.  One way in which they were unprofessional is that when the first officer knew she was sick and probably shouldn't fly, she went ahead anyway for concerns of being stuck in a hotel room until she got better. This is not what a professional would do.  She should have done the right thing and spoke up about being ill.  Another unprofessional thing that I learned about while watching the special is that the managers were putting low hour pilots in the captains seat well before they were ready.  Several of Colgan's former pilots said themselves that they should not have had the responsibility.  This demonstrates a very unprofessional company and it is definitely an eye opener.


When I become an airport manager, I plan on staying proficient in my professionalism.  I plan to do this by always taking classes on the professional topics at hand in my industry and the community.  I also will establish a reporting system of my own at the airport to expose any safety risks that may not be apparent to myself.  These are only a few things that I can do to remain professional. I believe the biggest thing to being professional is keeping an open mind and not allowing the "old ways" to get in the way of improving yourself.