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Show us your day job!

I made a fair portion of the software inside this electric race motorcycle:

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More info

But I'm moving to a new employer starting Feb 13th:

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Agcats and round engines

Flew part 135 light twins, aztec, cheyennes etc. in late 70's. Early 80's flew grumman agcats for four years, I just love those old round engines dearly. P/w 1340's nothing in the world sounds like them and nothing flies like an agcat. Work for Lyons flying service then, used to fly the new agcats down from Elmyra, New York to Welsh, La.. The Shennandoah valley and Appalachian mountains are really something to see from an agcat. I cherish those times.
Moved into electrical industry and I now work at Alcoa mostly keeping automated lines working electrically. Plc's and wiring. Kinda boring but I just can't wait to finish my 8 and get retired, and fly every chance I get.

Bird
 
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Computer Business

Been building and releasing Operating Systems software and platform firmware for the last 20+ years. Currently managing a group of Release Engineers at Oracle, formerly Sun Microsystems, and before that Cray Research. Worked at Hughes Aircraft testing on secret satellites before that.

I spend most of my day on the phone and doing email, and occasionally VAF. Working from home mostly now, which is a nice perk - no commute! My wife teaches HS math, and was formerly an engineer at Sun, Cray and Hughes.

It ain't exciting, but it pays the bills :)
 
My two jobs

Here's my weekly job



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Here's my week end job...(the best )

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Could be worse but I wouldn't trade with anyone...well maybe Paul D...;-)

Bruno Dionne
[email protected]
 
I fly my desk most days as a Flight Ops guy for a really large fractional provider.
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On good days, they let me fly one of our Falcons.
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May as well jump in here....

....retired and loving it. Ten years USAF, 31 years with TWA and messing with homebuilt airplanes since 1979.

Margie and I surrounded by 2 of 5 brothers at the Salty Dog Saloon in Homer, Alaska a few years back. It was a family reunion, 5 brothers and 1 sister. We had a great time. :)
Two of the guys live in Alaska along with their families and the dog, one of many. (I'm leaning against the pole)




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Sr. MES/MOM Engineer

I do consulting for Industrial Automation. For the last 10 years my focus has been primarily on Manufacturing Execution Systems.

I have designed and developed the software that is responsible for making
  • Beer for what used to be the largest US Beer makers
  • Coffee - 3 of 4 plants in the US making coffee for the famous brand from Seattle (Capable of over 5 Million pounds a week)
  • Contact Lenses
  • Medical Device Makers
  • etc.
 
I am a physical therapist, owning/managing a multidisciplinary rehab center. I've really only had one job; started out working for my brother at 21 and was a partner by 22. 30 years later still at it, but now in 6500 square ft with 10 employees...oh, and a whole lot more stress! That's where the RV comes in:)

Aiming to semi-retire in about 3 years so flying and playing with the plane can become my day job!
 
Wow! What an interesting thread... Lots of really smart people in the VAF...
I would be an outlier in this crowd....

In real life I own and operate a small Lube oil and Agricultural Surfactant Blending and packaging business. We sell oil and filters across the northern 1/3 of Iowa and along the MN border. We are also a contract blender/packager for a large agricultural chemical distributor. I have also done some real estate development, but that is quiet right now....

For my avocation I am a DPE, Company 135 check airman at the local FBO, do Warbird training, fly Warbirds for private collectors and museums, and do some aviation consulting.

Tailwinds,
Doug Rozendaal
 
I own a contracting company that specializes in installation of airport lighting and navigational aids in 9 southeastern states. All my jobs are at airports. I would post some pictures but we all know what airports look like.
 
Day Job: Developing metrology and kinematic control SW for systems like this one:

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Featuring a high-power, interchangeable diode-pumped IR, Green or UV laser, the system enables component and OEM manufacturers to drill, route, and nanostructure a wide range of materials including metals, organics, dielectrics, semiconductors and hybrid-engineered parts.

Warning: do not look at laser beam with remaining eye! :)
 
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Im an aircraft maintenance engineer and specialized in avionics. I work for a company called Maxcraft Avionics just outside of Vancouver B.C. Canada and mainly do avionic upgrades and installs. I've worked on everything from light to heavy helicopters, ultralights and homebuilts, up to Citations and twin Otters. Any avionics questions I'm happy to help...
 
Airplane Configurator

I design stuff that flies. Two that flew.
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Do you know Jack Loflin

I get to work on some pretty cool stuff. My primary job entails integrating Garmin Flight Decks (G500, G1000, G2000 etc.) into aircraft. I am currently working on both TC and STC projects. Occasionally they let me work on the experimental systems (G3X) :D.

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He is my CFII who took me thru my IFR ticket and works for garmin in Salem oregon.

He finished his ra shortly after mine.

Frank
 
I used to fly the mighty fighting C-21 (military lear 35 variant) but now fly a more classified and way more boring version of a radio controlled airplane. No pics allowed.
 
I worked for GEAE designing thrust reversers and aerostructures directly out of college.

Then accepted a propulsion engineering position at an unmanned aircraft Systems company in 2004 doing engine development and integration. Now I have been relegated to managing the propulsion engineering group at said UAS company.

http://www.aaicorp.com/products/uas/air_vehicles.html

Bill Rogers
RV-7
N181DR

If the rumour mill is correct then Bill, you'd probably be talking with my old colleagues in Western Australia
 
I happened to be working at the airport when this picture was taken. Did a job for Lifeflight in Pearland this day. ;)

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Holy cow, I step away from the computer for a day to bang some sheet metal down at the local CAF hangar and this thread goes crazy!

Just another airline puke here, 737 capt based in Houston. Here's me being goofy monkeying around with my new iPhone enroute to Vancouver... it's not nearly as cool as Milton's cube with his red Swingline stapler.
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I help keep the pointy end forward on this and a few other things you won't see for a while.

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In another life I helped demonstrate what happened when the pointy end no longer went forwards on high-performance tactical aircraft. Also a self-propelled ballast unit ;)

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My day job mostly happens at night! This is a shot from a few years back from the high stress seats at Carnegie Hall looking out into the audience about 1/2 hour before the concert.




I'm Assistant Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony and am also Concertmaster of Marin Symphony, Sun Valley Summer Symphony (Idaho) and Skywalker Symphony (Gearge Lucas' studio in Marin).

The violin in the picture was donated to the SFS for my exclusive use while I remain a member of the orchestra. It is a Stradivarius from the year 1700.

What am I most excited about now? Two days ago I flew my RV7A down to the paint shop!!!!! In 6 or so weeks it will be done! (ish:D)

Jeremy Constant
 
I'm an aerospace aerospace engineer. I used to work with unmanned air vehicles and now I spend most of my time playing with airplanes and motorcycles. We make cargo pods, motorcycle carriers, sensor pods and custom engineering projects.


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Seems that the classical musicians are a minority here!
My daytime job is playing and teaching oboe and english horn in The Netherlands. Much like Jeremy mostly in the afternoons and evenings. Gave me an excellent opportunity to build in the mornings.

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Great thread!

And let me add my thanks to all of you who are in (or retired from) service to this great country, my great regret is not having the smarts to join up when I was a kid back in the seventies. I know I missed out on flying some great birds.

And great to see more musicians, I am but a lowly bluegrass musician, but I bet that Strad would sound good on some old Appalachian fiddle tunes!;)
 
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I'm a retired Transformer, Breaker, and Bushing Tester from We Energies in SE Wisconsin. Now I build Classic Mahogany Boats and pilot them.

Roberta:)

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I'm a geologist; photo is of oil shale in western Colorado (taken from my RV; the exposure is about 3000 feet tall). With any luck this will keep avgas in our planes for the next 100 years...




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Lots of interesting people

For me, apart from a stint in the RAF it has been 39 years in the simulation and training industry in commercial, space and military, have had the good fortune to fly simulators for many of the platforms in this thread, traveled to many cool places and worked for a number of major aerospace companies. Now own a small consulting company providing business development services to the same industry, gives me some flexibility so that I can go to lots of fly-ins and meet these cool people.
 
Day job?

WOW! I feel really humbled in this crowd.

For the last 35 plus years, I've just been a small sign guy up here in Michigan. I don't do anything exciting and nothing in the aviation related industries. Here is a photo from a couple years ago showing our outdoor installation and service operations. Just trucks!

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You guys are amazing!
 
Another minority job

For 42 1/2 years I served as a United Methodist minister in Oklahoma. Retired
two years ago. Since then I work most days on my 9A. Panel is being built for
me now. I also act as support staff for my wife, who teaches at Texas Tech.
We now live in Lubbock.
Bill Todd
RV9A Bill
 
Interesting work

I started out as a nuke operator on a submarine (like several others on here.) Went back to school and got a BSME and later an MBA and had a lot of interesting jobs, but this one is the most interesting.

I am General Mananager for a company that designs fixtures to transport wind turbine components by rail. Here's an example of a wind tower section on a flat car.

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We also supply cranes (leased) and crews to load and unload the railcars, trucks and even barges and ocean vessels. The first picture is from Randolph, MN, not too far from Pete Howell's home.

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Here's loading barges in Buffalo. The frames on the end allow us to stack the towers two high.

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The trucks are pretty cool too!

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And I get to fly my RV-8 between the home office and sites and get some great air-to-ground pictures.

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Wow ...

When I saw this thread, it had just started. I decided to have somebody snap a quick pic of me working. By the time I remembered to do that this morning, the thread had blossomed to 15 pages!

A rather impressive crowd I hang with indeed. Having met and swapped lies with many of you, I still walk away impressed.

You big-iron turbine drivers got nothin' on me. My little turbines spin around at 200,000 rpm ...

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After a week of listening to people whine and complain about their teeth and how "everything was fine until that LAST dentist worked on me ...", the time spent in Smokey's cockpit, enjoying the solitude and freedom of flight is a real blessing.
 
GIS systems architect

I work in a high security cube farm, no picts allowed.

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For the last 10 years I have designed and built computer mapping systems that route 911 calls.
 
Sig600...the Strad is probably around the cost of a used LearJet. Certainly nowhere near as pricey as some of the iron that other folks in this thread are given resposibility for (we're looking in your direction, Paul:D).

355DW...fiddle tunes sound great on it, but when I was a student I made money playing, among other places, on the streets in Manhattan. The 3 things I learned are 1) Loud is good 2)Louder is better
(you want a violin that goes to 11) and most important 3) Play duets with a REALLY good looking girl. Even after a 50/50 split you make more:D

Jeremy
 
I'm honored

Wow! I'm feeling honored by the company of Vansairforce Members!

For my part, I'm working as a structural engineer in the aerospace & defence industry in Switzerland. In the past years I have been in charge of the structural integrity of Swiss Air Force F-5E/F, calulating structural fatigue lives, assessing damages etc.

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...ok, that's not a Swiss F-5E and I'm not at work. But this specific aircraft has been in Service in the Swiss Air Force before it was sold to the USN Adversary.
 
Extremely Blessed...

Wow,
I can't compare with the diversity displayed by this amazing group! I have spent most of my life flying, 27 of which in the coolest airplane on the planet (in my humble opinion) the F-16. I was later blessed to work for one of the most successful airlines out there. I also help others find nice RV's, safely and economically. For all of this I am very thankful and try to give back in my own way. Thanks DR, for sharing...

Smokey
www.fly-4-life.com


Crossing "western" Iraqi border day one Operation Iraqi Freedom 3/2003

Loaded for "Bear" (Base-X, Operation Iraqi Freedom)
 
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An impressive group,

but for a Social Sciences major I had fun.

I spent 20yrs with the USAFR doing this


and 30yrs with RW/RC/NW finishing on this


then retiring here (TN77)


doing this
 
Caretaker at Cherry Farm. Part of my duties is to act as security against un-authorized landings. :p

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Hey, cool! Prior to owning a red swingline stapler, my first job out of college was working for the company that built this brightly colored object. That is a Classic Limited Stretch basket with two horizontal laydown stainless steel cylinders. The burners put out 30,000,000 BTU/Hr, equivalent to about 12,000 horsepower, believe it or not! Since finishing my 7, I am working on making my homebuilt one-man balloon (called a cloudhopper) fit in the baggage compartment!

Oh and after hundreds of "off airport" landings, often on private property, I have only once had somebody pull a gun on me!
 
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Sig600...the Strad is probably around the cost of a used LearJet. Certainly nowhere near as pricey as some of the iron that other folks in this thread are given resposibility for (we're looking in your direction, Paul:D).

355DW...fiddle tunes sound great on it, but when I was a student I made money playing, among other places, on the streets in Manhattan. The 3 things I learned are 1) Loud is good 2)Louder is better
(you want a violin that goes to 11) and most important 3) Play duets with a REALLY good looking girl. Even after a 50/50 split you make more:D

Jeremy


Hahaha! Another Joshua Bell busking in the streets! You have certainly paid your dues! Congratulations on the paint job, I myself have just started my QB -7 and am waiting for my wife to get home so I have some help riveting the HS! Paint job scheduled for mid 2013!;)

best, Damon
 
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