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News release prepared by: Natalie Blair, 785-826,2642, nblair@k-state.edu
Friday, May 27, 2011
A GOOD FIT: FLIGHTSAFETY, K-STATE
CONNECTION HELPS STUDENTS GAIN EXPERIENCE AND JOBS
SALINA --
During the last decade, FlightSafey International and Kansas State
University Salina have built a strong relationship.
"FlightSafety's
Wichita Learning Center currently employs six K-State Salina alumni --
two full-time employees, one part-time employee and three
interns," said Rich High, manager of FlightSafety's Cessna
Learning Center in Wichita.
"This
internship is a tremendous opportunity for our students," said
Bill Gross, chief pilot with the K-State aviation program. "They
learn two or three jets inside and out, backward and forward and get
very good at it, which makes them ideal pilots for those aircraft.
Because they become so good at those aircraft, companies are willing to
hire them with lower flight time. The interns are well-positioned to
get a job, as K-State alumni have a 100 percent hire rate after their
FlightSafety internship ends."
"Interns
often serve as crew for our customers," High said. "We see
about 6,000 people a year from all over the world, so not only are they
learning aircraft and avionics systems, but they are also getting to
know other companies as they fly with their pilots. Some of those
companies ask our interns to come fly for them part time," High
said.
According to
High, K-State's aviation program creates pilots that are a good fit for
FlightSafety.
"Your
co-pilot plays a large role in your success with a check ride," he
said. "K-State pilots create a good cockpit environment. They
bring youth, they're willing to work any hours, they have a good
attitude and know their stuff; nobody that we've hired has been a
lightweight. They are extremely knowledgeable about aviation as a
whole, and know the rules and regulations, which is important because
customers come to us to be experts."
Interns can expect to spend 15-20
hours a week in the right seat. They will also spend time in the left
seat, as training requires FlightSafety customers to also experience
the aircraft as a co-pilot.
When their year is up High gets
involved with helping interns find employment, even going as far
helping negotiate a starting salary.
"We want our interns to know
they will be taken care of," High said. "The high-quality
training and experience they receive at our Learning Centers not only
helps them to secure employment, it reflects the strength of
FlightSafety's training programs and encourages the company that hires
them to train with us if they are not already."
"If an intern has logged
1,000 hours or more, FlightSafety helps them get a type rating, which
saves them $15,000 to $20,000-plus," Gross said. "And they're
getting paid on top of it.
One of
FlightSafety's current interns is Hall Lewallen, who graduated from
K-State in 2010. After only four months as a second in command intern
in the Hawker HS-125 Series of aircraft, which includes the Hawker 750,
800/850XP and 900XP, he has been offered his dream job: a full-time
position flying a corporate jet for a very well-known and reputable
company in his hometown of Phoenix, Ariz., at Sky Harbor Airport.
"As I
anticipate my first day," Lewallen said, "I've caught myself
thinking many times about how I wouldn't be in this position if it
weren't for my intern experience at FlightSafety or if I wasn't a
K-State Wildcat."
Prior to his
current internship Lewallen was a pilot intern in the demonstration
department at Hawker Beechcraft. He was interested in full-time
employment at the manufacturer and explored the idea of becoming a
regional airline first officer.
"Ultimately,
I decided to pursue my goal of becoming a corporate pilot,"
Lewallen said. "I knew that FlightSafety is absolutely the best
opportunity for me to accomplish that due to its outstanding reputation
within the industry, and the fact that I was able to confirm this
firsthand as a FlightSafety International client when I was training on
aircraft for Hawker Beechcraft."
Not all of
FlightSafety International's interns are pilots.
Rachel Farmer,
a 2008 K-Sate Salina graduate, was recently promoted to director of
quality management systems -- the position she was the intern for just
three years ago.
"I can't
imagine working anywhere else," she said. "I plan to stay
with FlightSafety for a very long time."
The Brookville
native started her internship in January 2008 as the assistant to the
director of quality management systems. By November of that year she
had been hired full-time as the operations support and compliance
coordinator.
"I
started out taking business classes," Farmer said. "I was
interested in aviation, but I didn't want to fly for a living. I
realized I could take classes to get the background I would need to
enter the aviation industry through the technology management degree
program, so I got a good foundation that prepared me for coming into
the industry. When I started looking for internships during my junior
year, I thought that Flight Safety would be a good fit."
A good fit,
indeed.
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