Aviation Organizations


Every day, there are issues and topics being discussed in the Aviation industry, and while as an individual you may not be able to make much of a dent in such an argument, a group would be able to. There are many different aviation groups that you can belong to, but it is crucial to choose the ones that support your beliefs and desires so that you may prosper and help others succeed in the path you have established. Two organizations that would be important for me to belong to would be the WAI, Women in Aviation International, and NAFI, the National Association of Flight Instructors.
WAI is a Non-profit organization that works to encourage and support women in all aviation related interests. According to the WAI website, they “provide year-round resources to assist women in aviation and to encourage young women to consider aviation as a career” (WAI, n.d.). Their group is very diverse as it includes everyone from astronauts to students and everyone in between. WAI also provides services to assist women year-round and encourage them to find a job in the aviation industry. They offer international and national membership to men and women, as well as outreach programs and even a special day for girls ages 8-17 to promote aviation to younger generations. Finally, they spread awareness of important female figures in aviation history. They have involvement in government and industry representation, network basis for incoming aviation professionals, and Aeromedical advisory partnership, and even a legal advisory program. This association is important to me for a few different reasons. The first one would be the incredible networking opportunity and ability to talk to different aviation professionals. To ask questions and gain inside knowledge on the industry would be invaluable to someone starting out as I am. Another reason I feel that WAI is important for me to belong to is that I share their beliefs. Encouraging younger aviation enthusiasts and helping them on a path to greatness is a small thing that can be done every day and bringing in a diverse group of strong and capable people into the industry can bring in new ideas and charisma that can bring our industry to new heights. There are many career opportunities in the WAI. One of the biggest is the Annual Conference that brings in over 200 exhibits from a wide variety of aviation businesses to give you a bountiful source of networking and job opportunities. With over 4500 attendees from around the world, you will also have opportunities to meet lifelong friends.
NAFI is an association dedicated to “raising and maintaining the professional standing of the flight instructor in the aviation community” (NAFI, n.d.). They are dedicated to keeping and raising the flight instructor from the free lance all the way up to a flight school. They believe that the flight instructor is the “quality control” (NAFI, n.d.) of future pilots and that helping those instructing flight are important in that equation. One of the core beliefs is to make flight instruction easier and as a future potential flight instructor, that is very important to me. They also try to work with all aspects of the aviation industry and represent flight instructors, which is a big help if I choose to become a flight instructor someday. They also have accreditation programs and CFI insurance! You can’t get much more helpful then that. Due to the involvement in the aviation industry, this will provide a great networking opportunity for me to reach out to fellow and past flight instructors to find and win job opportunities for myself.
References
NAFI. (n.d.) National Association of Flight Instructors. Retrieved from https://www.nafinet.org
WAI. (n.d.). Women in Aviation International. Retrieved from https://www.wai.org

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 1, 2018 at 11:20 PM

    BamBam,

    Very nice article I do agree with joining NAFI if your goal is to become a flight instructor down the road. Having the amount of patience and being able to teach future pilots how to fly isn't easy but its the reward at the end that you taught someone how to fly. In a way it starts them to start networking and your students will remember you for it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 2, 2018 at 8:10 AM

    Very Informative post. The NAFI seems like an association that one might heavily consider joining if wanting to become a flight instructor. While there is not really any "teaching" programs CFI as in there no formal way to teaching instructors how to teach, organizations like NAFI could easy do that job. Overall, great post. I will definitely look deeply into joining when the time comes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Green Airplane!April 2, 2018 at 10:15 AM

    Great post! I am already in NAFI. I was on the track to becoming a flight instructor but I ended changing a few things. The nice thing about NAFI is the training they provide and all of the benefits they have. I bose headset and they honored my discount for being in the association.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nenne747April 2, 2018 at 10:38 AM

    Hello BamBam BlackBird,
    I found your post to be really well written and full of interesting and useful information. I was unaware of the existence of the flight instructors’ organization. In my opinion, flight instructors have a crucial role within the aviation world. In fact, they are the ones that “build” the new pilots and it’s for this reason that they should receive as much support as possible. I definitely agree with you in saying that it’s almost impossible to always be up to date with current topic regarding the aviation world and organizations can be really useful tools in pointing out and summarizing what is going on in our beloved world.
    -Nenne747-

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amateur AviatorApril 2, 2018 at 10:39 AM

    I enjoyed reading this. NAFI sounds great, unfortunately I don't on becoming a flight instructor so it didn't really catch my interest but WAI is an organization I know, like and believe in. I consider myself a feminist so encouraging young ladies to join aviation is a great idea to me. I also believe these ladies deserve some protection because not everyone would encourage or embrace change. But I think soon we'll see a lot more women in aviation.

    ReplyDelete

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