QC Air Show promotes aviation to new generation  

While thousands of Quad City Air Show fans cranked their heads back to look toward the skies this weekend, others had their eyes focused on the future, particularly, the future of the aviation industry.  For several years now, the industry has been beating the drum for increased recruiting and training of a new generation of […]

While thousands of Quad City Air Show fans cranked their heads back to look toward the skies this weekend, others had their eyes focused on the future, particularly, the future of the aviation industry.  For several years now, the industry has been beating the drum for increased recruiting and training of a new generation of pilots who are desperately needed to step in and replace a looming wave of retirements. An estimated 602,000 pilots will be needed between 2022 and 2041, a Boeing Report released last year showed.  But the industry also needs to fill the pipeline for many other aviation careers. The Boeing study, a Pilot and Technician Outlook, reported as many as “610,000 maintenance technicians and 899,000 cabin crew members will be needed to fly and maintain the global commercial fleet over the next 20 years.”  That is why aviation companies, flight trainers and other aeronautical-related businesses welcomed the long overdue return of professional air shows, such as the Quad City Air Show this past weekend, June 24-25, to put a spotlight on aviation as a career choice.  The whole idea behind the show, and those like it that all were sidelined by COVID-19 “is to get young people excited about aviation,” said Guy Lieser, the CEO of Revv Aviation, an Aurora, Illinois-based company that is the fixed-base operator (FBO) at the Davenport Municipal Airport. It also is the FBO for more than a dozen other small airports nationwide.

Mr. Lieser’s company was among those whose staff was busy educating spectators to the career possibilities that aviation offers. Revv, whose services include charter flights, maintenance, medical transport and flight schools, joined a number of flight training programs, including several military branches, in staffing vendor booths at the show. Its trained personnel were on hand to discuss aviation-related jobs, education programs and more with those enjoying the show in the sky.  “All the shows, now that we are post-COVID, allow people to come back to the airport, be ‘normal’ again and they’re having fun,” he said. “Three-, 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds all get excited by the shows.” They are the future of aviation, he said. A fan favorite, of course, was Bettendorf native U.S. Air Force Capt. Sam Larson, who in December became the youngest commander of the elite F-22 Demo Team. He and his team’s skilled and daring stunts entertained the hometown crowd.  “That’s the best story you can get out there,” said Mr. Lieser, who retired after a career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and later joined Peru, Illinois-based CL Enterprises (CLE), to help it enter the aviation business in late 2019.  “People love to see this, then they can come talk to us about how to do it (get into aviation),” he added. “Our company is trying to make aviation accessible to all.”    CLE founders and husband-wife team Inga Carus and Peter Limberger also were among the excited Quad City Air Show fans on hand Saturday. They watched in awe from a corporate chalet sponsored by Revv Aviation as the F-22 Raptor and other pilots and performers took to the sky. The couple are both avid aviators and pilots.  Their young startup company, Revv Aviation, is the latest of many business interests CLE has invested in, Mr. Limberger told the QCBJ.  For Revv, which began with CLE’s acquisition of the former Carver Aero in Davenport and Muscatine, Iowa, he said “The ultimate goal is to be the best recognized (aviation) brand across the country.”  In order to achieve that goal, Mr. Limberger’s companies are busy training future employees and creating apprenticeship programs to fill the worker pipeline. Currently, Revv Aviation’s flight schools – including one the University of Nebraska-Omaha – have some 400 students working toward their pilot license and certification. Revv, with Quad Cities operations in Davenport and at the Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, hopes to similarly partner with Black Hawk College in the future, he said. “There has never been a better time to get into aviation,” Revv CEO Mr. Lieser said.   The air show also was a perfect backdrop for the armed services and local emergency responders, a number of which had recruiters on hand, to help enlighten young people, mid-career types and others about new career possibilities.  Tech Staff Sgt. Ryan Mena, a production recruiter with the Iowa Air National Guard, Des Moines, found himself back in his hometown too – meeting with spectators as they stopped at the dozens of vendor booths at the Davenport airport.  “It’s nostalgic for me. My family used to bring me here to the show,” said Mr. Mena, a 2011 Central High School graduate, who was born and raised in Davenport.  He and others were working to educate potential recruits to the different careers within the military. “We want to get away from the military stigma that you’re going to just fight wars.”  His unit, the 132nd Wing, even teamed up with the Illinois Air National Guard out of Peoria, to share a booth. The military representatives were just as busy talking about aeronautical jobs as other careers including police, fire and medical positions.  “The Air Force just isn’t air power,” Mr. Mena said. “People have definitely been interested. We can help them navigate … what the military can do for them.”  Now a recruiter, he sees his job as being a career coordinator for others. And for him, it all started at a Quad City Air Show “seeing the Blue Angels going by.”