HAI/ROBB COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY


During his tour of the HAI HELI-EXPO show floor, Dickson had a chance to discuss


issues with industry figures such as Chris Jaran, COO of MD Helicopters.


planned launches and reentries. Eventually, they’ll be displayed on the controller’s scopes so that we can manage operations much more dynamically. Tis is really the most exciting period in aviation history,


probably back to, I would say, the advent of the jet engine or maybe even the DC-3. Tat’s because of the innovation we see on the HAI HELI-EXPO show floor. You’re talking about fly-by-wire helicopters, developments with synthetic vision, and the rule-making we’re having to do around UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] and commercial space to enable all of these different capabilities to operate in the same airspace. It’s extremely exciting. Te final strategy pillar is about people. When it comes


to recruiting and training, there’s an internal aspect to it in terms of staffing the FAA, but there’s an industry side to it as well. We need to mentor young people to understand the opportunities that exist in our industry, not only within the agency but also in the private sector. Actually, I just reviewed the candidates who had applied


to be on the Women in Aviation advisory board that was mandated in the 2018 FAA reauthorization bill. We had about 200 submittals for 20 slots. Tere are many accom- plished people and stakeholders who have applied, but we need to get some diversification in terms of age and experi- ence, because there may be some knowledge about the best


48 ROTOR 2020 Q2


way to reach young people that somebody my age might not pick up on. Te FAA will also convene different stakeholder groups


and see where the opportunities are to promote aviation. Tere are a lot of good things happening around the industry, but they’re kind of piecemeal and fragmented. I think there’s a way we can coordinate our efforts effectively. Tere are so many different ways into aviation now that


didn’t exist years ago. A lot of what we need to do is get the message out about these opportunities to groups who may not be familiar with aviation. For many people, if they’ve never had a connection to aviation or no one in their family has been in aviation, they just aren’t aware of it. As far as my strategy for the FAA workforce goes, the


agency has to work to more systematically allow our people to have satisfying careers and ensure they have a broad perspective of the entire agency. My experience in large technical organizations like an airline or the military is that people who have subject-matter expertise in a particular technical discipline tend to want to matriculate and be promoted within that discipline. But if they haven’t had any exposure to the rest of the business or the rest of the enter- prise, it can be challenging to find your best leaders. Te best engineer or the best mechanic or the best pilot may not actually be the best leader for the organization.


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