Profile

My name is Josh. I am a senior at North Hall High School, and I have been involved in our baseball program for a total of five years including my senior year. I am likely to attend college playing baseball, so I can continue to play the game I love. I am looking to attend either the United States Air Force Academy or the United States Coast Guard Academy. If I attend one of these schools, I will look to major in mechanical engineering, systems engineering or aeronautical engineering. I will use one of these majors to enroll into flight school post graduation of the academy. Once I have finished flight school on whatever I can get my hands on, I would like to stay in the Air Force for twenty years. Once I retire, I would like to go into the commercial business of flying for Delta, Southwest, American Airlines, etc.

            I gained my internship through a program my county offers to all the schools. We entered an application and went through an interview to be selected for this program. To be selected for this program we had to know what we want to do post high school, and delve into the profession we desire. I have chosen to go in depth with aviation. I am interning at Lanier Flight Center in Gainesville, GA. I am working in the maintenance hangar with four other men on aircraft the company owns or any other plane an owner wants work done on. I have replaced an engine, replaced wheel bearings, take out the interior of the aircraft, take off the wing panels, replaced the oil in an engine, etc.

            

Week 10/6

Through my internship I have done mainly maintenance on aircraft owned by Lanier Flight Center. I am interested in becoming a pilot, however, through working maintenance on these aircraft I have gained interest in mechanics. They have flexible hours, work on planes and get paid well. Mechanics has become an interest in a career. They are always overloaded with work to perform on aircraft needing maintenance, so through my help I am lowering the amount of work they have to perform. I have worked hard to learn more knowledge everyday, and complete the tasks they ask me to complete 100% thorough. 

Aspirations of becoming a Pilot

From interning at the airport, there are many factors to come into consideration. You have to become aware of the protocol, hierarchy and communication among the team running the flight center.  I have worked in the maintenance section of the flight center, and keeping a paper copy of everything we do on a plane is key to the protocol of maintenance. Everything we take off or put on the plane must be written down on an order form, so we can keep a paper trail in case a customer has a question about the maintenance his plane underwent. The hierarchy pertains to the employees in charge, and how the power goes down in order. With the maintenance the man in charge can be given to Paul Kyst. Paul overlooks Wes, Dave and Jon, and these are the main guys that I mentor with. When we are trying to clear something to being done we all ask Paul, and when I am asking a question I can ask any of them. Our communication becomes key when there are many things we have to perform on an aircraft. With the communication among us five we can split the task of the aircraft, and use teamwork to finish the project much quicker. How you dress can change the first impression someone may have about you. I dress in gym clothes and a t-shirt or jeans and a t-shirt because we get dirty, and I think this impacts my interaction with the owner of the flight center. He is dressed very professionally, and I am not. I feel as though he thinks less of me, but this is the clothing I am required to wear. However, I have been able to gain close relationships with the men I am working with in maintenance. With the skills I already obtained, I feel as though my impression has come across as a well-rounded young man who has aspirations, and he is chasing these dreams.