Aviation Organizations

     

     I think as part of my career path it would be beneficial if I became a member of the American Association of Airport Executives.  It would also be in my favor to become a Certified Member of the American Association of Airport Executives.  Another association which would also be important for me to join would be the National Business Aviation Association or Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

  

     The American Association of Airport Executives offers various resources including material to become a member of the organization and posting of jobs in the industry.  From looking at the AAAE website they deliver or offer such things as development and training, help meeting regulatory challenges, and information or news that is critical.   

     The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) helps to make general aviation businesses more successful.  From their website it's mentioned that the NBAA represents more than 10,000 companies and provides many products and services to the community of business aviation.  They also hold a large conference for numerous aviation products and services.  

     The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is an organization primarily designed for owners or operators of aircraft.  It does offer online programs to keep one informed or fresh with their knowledge if a pilot but not currently flying.  It offers many resources to anyone involved in aviation.  This organization is an additional way to stay informed with the latest news in the aviation industry.

     The benefit of belonging to the AOPA or Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, for myself would be that they offer a lot of information for pilots.  These include seminars and online quizzes to keep one proficient with their aviation education.  Being a pilot but primarily interested in the management field of aviation it will help keep me informed even if I'm not flying every day.

     After becoming part of the AAAE or American Association of Airport Executives, one might be viewed as more informed on the management side of the aviation industry.  This could make a résumé look stronger having added to the knowledge already gathered from a Bachelors Degree in Aviation Management Technology.

     The NBAA would be beneficial to join as it offers many aspects to the aviation community in a business aspect.  As currently I am not exactly sure which avenue of aviation management I would ultimately like to end up at this organization would help me to be well rounded.  

Aviation Professionalism & Flying Cheep

A specific job I would like to end up at would be the Director of Administration of an airport.  I would like to end up at Metro Detroit Airport, I would like to end up with the Wayne County Airport Authority.

      The position listed above is essentially an individual that would oversee most of the airport operations at a major airport.  I have gathered information about the required tasks and responsibilities of an Airport Director of Administration from AAAE.   This positions job duties are typically responsible for tasks like directing the work flow of different departments, dealing with internal audits, directing polices for management, being a leader business improvements, and assure compliance with the regulations and government laws.  In addition Director of Administration is also behind the implementation of policies and procedures.  This is for most levels in the organization, from dealing with goods and services to the administration of contract documents and internal and external audits.  It is also important that this manager communicate effectively with the entire department and construct a good work ethic.  This will give comfort and security to employees about the importance of safety along with the Director being seen as a leader of a successful business.                The company I currently listed above was the Wayne County Airport Authority, located in Michigan.  The Detroit Airport has seen a decent amount of growth in the past years.  According to the Wayne County Airport Authority, this has been with the operation of both aircraft operations and passenger operations.  They have completed their airport master plan in 2009 and expect to see new developments in the near future.
 

I think that there are safety and liability concerns in any organization or business.  As a manger in this position I feel there would be a lot of oversight responsibility.  There are several divisions that the Director of Administration would be supervising.  Some of the things I think that could be done or I might do would include placing emphasis on performance evaluations and insuring they are done on a regular schedule with giving feedback in a timely manner.  Also I feel the work ethic and team work would be important.  Creating an environment where one another can complete tasks and double check ones work as a system of redundancy to help in preventing an error.  With things like this it would lay a foundation for a safe environment and the business or organization could focus on safety.

Professionalism in my own words is presenting yourself in confident, respectful, well groomed, and well dressed manner.  Speaking with clarity and directness when addressed.  

Two ways in which lack of professionalism was shown in the documentary "Flying Cheep", one would have been seen by the pilots computing weight and balance.  The Captain wanted to just mark down that a few more of the passengers were children so they would be within weight limits.  Management lacked professionalism by thinking about completing the task.  In the documentary one of the guys interviewed said they were willing to fudge numbers so it looked like he was on a normal duty day when he was really over and operating illegally.