The Global Aviator

Many of us grew up in a world where the US was the center of all commercial aviation and the rest of the world was at best, a destination.  Exploring new worlds used to be (and still is) one of the great draws for people to entertain joining the ranks of professional pilots.  However, the US airlines have retracted over the last two decades, offering minimal career growth opportunities for young pilots.  Meanwhile outside our borders, the aviation world has expanded rapidly and “grown up” to make commercial flying a career with truly global opportunities.

For the first time ever, passenger airline traffic within Europe outpaced US domestic traffic in 2010 (despite volcanoes and holiday snow closures).  Further, the Asian market is expected to become the world’s largest aviation market within the next decade.  Meanwhile, Emirates has ordered over 90 A380 superjumbo jets to fill the middle-eastern skies and create the world’s largest stopover point in Dubai.  Indeed, the world has changed dramatically since the dawn of commercial air transport; and will continue to change just as dramatically in the years to come.

The moral of the story?  Well, aside from just getting out and taking advantage of amazing global airline network to travel the world; the moral here is that young pilots can continue to set their sights high and need not be disappointed by career limitations with US carriers.  The whole world awaits for those willing to explore it…

Matt Baumgarth, Director At Large

Opportunities

What I have come to find is that success and future opportunities come from taking advantage of those opportunities that we are fortunate enough to have presented to us. Almost two years ago now, The LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation presented me with an opportunity that has become the basis of my whole career path. I was interested in aviation at a young age, but having the opportunity to obtain my private pilot’s license set me on my path toward a career in aviation.

I am currently attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ and I am majoring in Aviation Business Administration with a minor in safety science. Being a pilot has opened my eyes to a lot of things and having that flight experience will help me to succeed in the industry. It has made me more knowledgeable, but more importantly, more confident. The trials and tribulations that come with being a pilot make you a stronger and a more self-assured person, and I can honestly say that the person I was when I began flying and the person I am now are very different. I still have the same aspirations and drive, but I have found that I am a much more well rounded person now. I have become more confident, I am able to handle sticky situations in flight and in life in general, much easier now; and, I am not afraid to go a little out of my comfort zone in order to open up new opportunities for myself.

So I am in college, seeking a career in aviation, but what have I done with flight since I was given the opportunity to earn my private pilot’s license? Well, since attaining my private license with the help of this great foundation, my love for flight has continued to grow more and more every day. I obviously couldn’t just stop there, I have since gone on to get my multi-engine, and instrument ratings and I am currently working on my commercial single engine rating. Right now I am still trying to build hours, so lately it has just been a lot of cross country flights for me, which is awesome. I have flown to places such as the Grand Canyon and all over Arizona, Las Vegas, and will soon be taking a flight back home to California.

So many opportunities have opened up since receiving the LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation Scholarship two years ago. I don’t currently know if I will be flying commercially or working in the business side of aviation when I graduate from Embry Riddle in two years, but I do know that wherever my life takes me aviation will surely be a part of it.