Mayday Events
Careers in Aviation Panel
Sunday, May 22nd | 1200hrs – 1359hrs
Big Becker Building – Wayne Municipal Airport
Are you interested in learning more about the amazing careers and opportunities in aviation?
Those careers that are beyond being a pilot? Then the Sunday, May 22nd event will be just your kind of event.
Join our host and several panelists (see info below) as we talk about all the different kinds of jobs and careers in aviation. This interactive panel event is free to the public with entry into Mayday STOL Drag 2022 (GET TICKETS). You can also ask your most pressing questions or just ones you are curious about.
Meet our Panelists
Check back as we continue to grow this amazing panel.
Dr. Scott E. Tarry
Dr. Scott E. Tarry is Distinguished Professor of Aviation and Director of the Aviation Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The UNO Aviation Institute is the largest collegiate flight training program in Nebraska and offers degree programs in Professional Flight, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and Air Transport Administration. Tarry also serves as Director of the NASA Nebraska Space Grant Consortium and the NASA Nebraska EPSCoR program, which connects Nebraska college and university students and researchers to NASA resources and opportunities. He was recently elected Chair of the National Council of NASA Space Grant Directors. Tarry is active in the aviation community and current serves as the Chair of the Nebraska Aeronautics Commission and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for Technical Training and Human Performance.
Cathy Page
I'm a STOL Drag racer and an aviation junkie! I received my private pilots license two days before my 25th birthday I've been flying ever since. 11 months later I became an aircraft owner. Once I got my license I began meeting others who flew and I discovered that many of them were just like me. I had no thoughts of becoming a professional pilot at all. I still assumed those careers were left to people from a different station. So over the years I continued to just step forward and see more opportunities that involved flying. After about four years of flying my Cessna on evenings, weekends and vacations etc. I realized that I might be able to make a career change after all. I've met so many extraordinary people along this journey. Flying redirected my path in life to a place in time, mind, spirit and soul I could not have dreamed. I pinch myself every day. General aviation is where I began and it's where my heart lies. The past several years I've been a STOLDrag racer and I absolutely love it.
John Meier
John Meier started flying when he was 16. He earned in Private Pilot license in rural Nebraska before attending the United States Air Force Academy. After graduating from the Academy, John served in a variety of assignments during his 22-year career in the Air Force. He started his career flying the T-37 and T-44 training aircraft. After receiving his pilot wings, he flew the C-130E Hercules at Ramstein Air Base, Germany and at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. Following his tours as a tactical airlift pilot, he was selected for duty with the prestigious 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Meier’s final assignment station was Ramstein Air Base where he served as Chief Pilot of the 76th airlift Squadron. As Chief Pilot, he was responsible for the training and development of 54, C-21, C-20, C-37 and C-40 pilots. John has logged over 5,000 military flight hours, and at the time of his retirement was the highest flight time C-40 pilot in the Air Force. He flew combat operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and has 678 hours of combat time. Following his military career, John started flying commercially with Delta Air Lines. He has flown the Boeing 737 and is currently flying the Airbus A350. John and his wife Michelle, have three children. They live in the Pierce area where John is partner in a family farming operation.
Kyle Bushman
Started in Aviation as an avid R/C Airplane Enthusiast learning how to fly R/C Planes with his Grandfather. Received his A&P degree and license in 2013. Started work apprenticing under Tim Talen and then took over the business when Talen retired which is what Bushman has been doing ever since. He is also an instrumental part of STOL Drag and STOL Drag racing and has been a crucial part of back country aviation's rapid growth.
Amanda Woodward
Woodward got her start flying with her uncles when she was still too little to reach the pedals; she got her start tinkering soon after, even taking a motorcycle apart, much to the dismay of her not- so- mechanically inclined- father. Woodward worked at a pizza place until 2015 when fortuitous circumstances allowed her to attend college and become a shop teacher. As the recipient of good fortune and a graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Woodward treasures using her passions to connect with students and teach them about the demand for skilled trades people, especially in aviation. Woodward has been fighting for bigger, more relevant to industry learning opportunities since before she landed her first teaching job. That energy is what made Woodward such a great fit to work hand in hand with local company, Duncan Aviation to build an aviation maintenance focus program at North Star High School in Lincoln NE. Woodward currently has 1.1 flight hours in her logbook and is working on
Jeremy Rangel
Jeremy Rangel is currently the Airframe Manager for Duncan Aviation’s Lincoln, Nebraska, MRO facility. He started his aviation career working in the U.S. Air Force as a C-130 Crew Chief for six years. After his military career concluded, he moved home to Nebraska where he started working as a fuel specialist with Duncan Aviation. He honed his business jet knowledge while working in Duncan Aviation's Dassault Falcon program and earned his Airframe Mechanic certification while working for Duncan Aviation. In 2017, he was selected as the Lincoln facility’s Airframe Manager, where he began managing 250 technicians. Within a few months of becoming the Airframe Manager, Jeremy recognized that the industry is demanding more qualified technicians than currently available. He worked with his team to develop and facilitate a new technician helper program. This 24-month program consists of a 15-week training program and on-the-job experience that allows participants to earn their A&P Certification. Jeremy also developed relationships with the Department of Education, Department of Labor, and the Veterans Administration to support the program and Duncan Aviation’s Apprenticeship Program was registered and approved by both the Department of Labor and the Department of Education in 2019. Later that same year, In recognition of his leadership, Jeremy was selected as a Business Aviation 40 Under 40 honoree by the National Business Aviation Association. Jeremy also sits on the Advisory Board for the Iowa Western Community College Aviation Department. While working at Duncan Aviation, he also earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Bellevue University.