January 24, 2013
The owner of a prospering air charter brokerage at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport is using NBAA publications to encourage the next generation of business aviation professionals.
Pat Lambrix, president and owner of Cleveland, OH-based Soluna Air Charter, took 50 copies of NBAA’s flagship magazine, Business Aviation Insider, to college students attending a panel discussion on careers in aviation Jan. 23 at The Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies.
She also shared copies of NBAA’s No Plane No Gain pocket guide, which features investor Warren Buffett extolling the virtues of business aviation. NBAA Member Lambrix requested the publications from the Association after realizing that her participation in the panel discussion on aviation career paths at OSU would reach many college students who already had at least some interest in aviation.
Lambrix was invited to participate in the OSU panel discussion because of her wide-ranging experience in the air charter industry.
“I’ve worn lots of hats in aviation on my way up,” said Lambrix. “In the last 20 years, I’ve worked with several Part 91 and Part 135 operations, including fractional jet sales. Now that I own my own charter broker business, I can arrange my time better to help educate those considering a career in our industry.”
Other panelists at the OSU Center for Aviation Studies discussion included ATC Specialist Kevin Stephens, ARGUS Product Manager Andy Balser, Columbus Airports Air Services Development Specialist Carl Schultz and Scope Aircraft Finance Account Executive Mike Smith. Center Director Jim Oppermann said nearly 100 OSU aviation students attended the event.
Encouraging future business aviation professionals with NBAA materials is only the latest volunteer work Lambrix has undertaken to help young people understand the potential of a career in business aviation. She’s a mentor for the Wings of Women (WOW) Conference, which engages middle school and high school girls in explorations of aviation and space careers. Last year, WOW partnered with the International Women’s Air and Space Museum in Cleveland to stage a conference in Cleveland, drawing young women from as far as Detroit. Lambrix values the resources that NBAA provides.
“As an NBAA Member, I’ve learned so much about this business, especially when I started my own charter broker operation. Things like start-up necessities, rules, regulations, operating practices. Without the NBAA mother ship, I’d never be where I am now,” she said.
The Association has long offered Member-sponsored scholarships for students studying aviation-related curricula at institutions of higher learning. Currently there are 13 annual scholarships for students totaling almost $100,000 in tuition reimbursement, including the Alan H. Conklin Business Aviation Management Scholarship, the Lawrence Ginocchio Aviation Scholarship, the UAA Janice K. Barden Aviation Scholarship and the William M. Fanning Maintenance Scholarship.
NBAA also offers assistance for working professionals in business aviation, including pilots, maintenance professionals, schedulers, dispatchers, flight attendants and flight technicians.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.