Ever since I can remember, I have known that I wanted to have a career in the aviation industry. I spent my early years in Houston, TX, where my Dad worked for NASA as an astronaut trainer. While I was out playing in the sandbox with my brother, I would hear the roar of a jet engine screaming by our house. I would stop what I was doing, spring up, and look upwards towards the sky to catch a glimpse of a T-38 astronaut trainer speeding by. I knew that I wanted to experience that “free” feeling of flight for the rest of my life.
I finally took my first introductory flight in high school at Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe, KS. My instructor had a great enthusiasm about aviation and patiently answered all of my questions. When we finally took off and he entrusted me with the flight controls, my stomach felt like it was doing summersaults inside of me. I was so excited to finally get a taste of the dream that I had all of my life.
From this point forward, I knew I wanted to be an airline pilot. I traveled the United States with my Dad to find a college program that would make me a well-rounded airline pilot candidate. Eventually we decided on Arizona State University. In school I accelerated through all my ratings in 16 months and then was lucky enough to get a coveted flight instructor slot at my flight school for the rest of college.
After graduating from college, I flew everything from small single engine turboprops to large multiengine jets. I have been an instructor, check airman, security coordinator, and line captain. I have opened bases around the United States, negotiated fuel contracts, and wrote FAA approved training manuals. At 26 years old, I have had a lifetime of experiences in just a short amount of time.
To further advance my knowledge and interest in aviation, I saw an opportunity to work as a script writer for Angle of Attack on the 777. After several writing example tests, I was officially brought on as a junior script writer. I have always enjoyed writing, especially about subjects that I am interested in. Initially, I wrote scripts for the AOA training videos similar to other airline training videos I had witnessed. The scripts were full of facts, formal, and easy for most pilots to understand. After my first rough draft, I got a little discouraged when the head of production said to me, “No, no, no, this is not the style we want.”
I was confused at first, and then I started to understand. What makes AOA different are their training videos are informal, designed for all, pilots and just regular aviation enthusiasts. I pulled from my several years of flight instructor experience and wrote in an easy to understand, conversational tone just like I was teaching a brand new student. I added subtle jokes as well to make the training fun, just like I used to do as an instructor to help capture my student’s attention. I quickly remembered how enjoyable it is writing using this style.
I quickly moved to a senior script writer and also helped create storyboards for the production team. I had no prior experience in this field but I quickly picked up the art of storyboards. I have had fun detailing the images, animations, and videos that I had in mind for our amazing production team to create. I cannot wait to see the final 777 product!
As a 737 First Officer, I have a lot of time to work on projects such as the 777. I look forward to continually working with Angle of Attack on this project as well as future projects. Please take the time to explore our several courses and let us know how we are doing. After all, this training course is designed for you!
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Everyone welcome Michael! Feel free to ask him any questions you have about his career, work at AOA and so on.
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