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Posted on Sat, Apr. 08, 2006
St. Cloud State program shows students jobs
By Tracey Compton
St. Cloud Times
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - For Lisa Peasley, the path to becoming a successful pilot has not been easy or atypical.
Having graduated from St. Cloud State University's aviation program in 1996, she went on to be a flight instructor at St. Cloud Regional Airport, taught ground school classes at St. Cloud State, worked for a regional airline based in Milwaukee and thought she won the lottery when she landed a job with United Airlines.
After three years of flying with its largest fleet, Peasley was laid off shortly after United filed for bankruptcy in 2003.
Things change quickly in the aviation industry.
Target flight ops
Today, as a captain for Target Corp.'s flight operations, she's found some stability in an industry that's gaining popularity in light of recent turbulence in commercial aviation.
Peasley shares her experience with St. Cloud State students, as Target is one of the eight companies that has partnered with the university to expose students to the world of corporate aviation operations. General Mills, Signature, Duncan Avionics, 3M, General Dynamics, Regent/Millionaire and Cargill also are participants.
In August, the school's department was endorsed by the Corporate Aviation Association of the Washington, D.C.,-based National Business Aviation Association to create three regional programs.
St. Cloud State has interest from four universities, including a historically black college, to start similar aviation programs. There are about 325 students in St. Cloud State's aviation department.
Typically, there are 20 to 35 people in the corporate and general aviation operations management course.
The number of companies operating business aircraft in the United States has grown more than 60 percent to 10,661 companies operating 15,879 aircraft in 2003 from 6,584 companies operating 9,504 aircraft in 1991, according to the national association's most recent data.
"It's a world you normally don't get to see for a few years," said Tara Harl, assistant aviation professor at St. Cloud State.
Describing corporate flight crews as the best of the best, Harl said it takes many hours of flight time, experience and customer service skills to get into the business.
In the program, students get to meet with crews and pilots such as Peasley, getting answers to questions for their final project - a chapter they write on customer service or standardization.
The education is not just about pilots in corporate aviation, but maintenance staff, dispatchers, flight attendants and managers.
"I really didn't know that much about corporate. I thought everyone went to the airlines," Coleman Schelitzche said.
The senior at St. Cloud State already visited Cargill with his class group and has plans to visit 3M and Duncan Avionics.
Volatile industry
Eventually, Schelitzche wants to shy away from commercial airlines as a future career and fly corporate. He's watched the ups and downs of his mother's career as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines and knows how volatile the industry can be.
"I'm really open to a lot of ideas, and you kind of have to be (that way) as a pilot with low hours," Schelitzche said.
It's the same message that Peasley passes to students.
"You don't ever know where your career path is going to take you," she said. "Just stay open."
No entry-level job
Being a corporate pilot isn't an entry-level job. Pilots needs about a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight time, 6,000 to 12,000 to be competitive and intangible skills such as customer service and good technical knowledge of airplanes, Peasley said.
Taking off and landing in airports of various sizes around the world, Peasley gets to transport Target executives and their guests, sometimes brushing shoulders with celebrities.
From Los Angeles International Airport to the Owatonna (Minn.)Degner Regional Airport, from mountain terrain to short runways, the challenges are varied.
She flies a more technologically advanced jet than she did in previous positions, and her position combines skills learned while at United and the small regional carrier Skyway Airlines.
Not only is she responsible for getting passengers to their final destinations, she interacts with them as there are no flight attendants, and she often isn't separated from them behind a bulletproof door.
Peasley also makes travel arrangements on the ground, ensuring her guests are taken care of for the duration of their trip.
"I really do feel like I have the best job ever," she said.
Corporate aviation
Peasley has watched many of her friends still employed with commercial airlines start to look for positions in corporate aviation because of the perception that they're more stable.
There aren't as many jobs in business aviation as there are in commercial airlines, but there are more pilots being hired into business aviation every day, she said.
Before Sept. 11, a lot of business aviation pilots started at a higher salary but topped out below the pay levels of commercial aviation counterparts, said Dan Hubbard, spokesman for NBAA.
The salary range for pilots, for example, varies widely depending on the type of aircraft and the pilot's rank, he said.
"In recent years, with the airline restructuring, we think there is less disparity at the top of the pay scale," Hubbard said.
Corporate flight crew positions are more stable today, but that's not always the case, said David Maib, director of Target's Flight Operations.
Corporations differ
Every corporation is different, and corporate jobs haven't always been stable, he said. Volatility could come from businesses merging, being acquired, going out of business or expanding.
"We're very selective because personality and people skills are so important in a corporate job, where you're frequently on a first-name basis with the top people in the company and you're directly involved in customer service with your passengers," Maib said.
St. Cloud State's aviation program is as much of an opportunity for companies to meet their future employees as it is exposure for the students to the industry, he said.
It's the kind of job Schelitzche is looking forward to one day.
From money he's saved from high school jobs, he's managed to make it through his preflight program at St. Cloud State without needing a loan.
This spring he will have to get one to cover the rest of his schooling and the $130- to $150-per-hour flight time with instructors he needs for certifications.
Even though it's expensive and the entry-level jobs he expects to get out of school aren't that profitable, he says it's worth it.
"The people you meet along the way, everyone in aviation seems to have some special drive," Schelitzche said. "It's amazing what kind of networks you build in the aviation industry."
