My Resume

It happened.

I became a victim of the poor economy. Friday, October 30th, 2009, I was laid off from my job at Communications Laboratories, Inc. It was the best job I have ever had, and was the best company I had ever worked for. I cannot tell you the number of rewarding experiences I have been able to take part in during the last five years. Not to mention the number of lives that have been saved as a result of the use of our products.

I will miss it.

So I am now looking for gainful employment. I am getting the word out to as many people as I know. As part of that, I am posting my resume here on this blog. I have a copy in Word .doc format ready to send to anyone who would like it. I will also continue to update my profile on LinkedIN.com. You can find my profile here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/daveflys

Please pass the word on if you know of anyone who might be looking for a reliable, energetic addition to their team.

Clear skies!

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DAVID ALLEN

EXPERIENCE
Communications Laboratories, Inc.
Customer Support Engineer (2004-2009)
· Diagnosed problems and formulated solutions for user’s systems.
· Maintained and supported multiple redundant servers in support of 2200+ client stations.
· Tested and distributed new versions of multiple software packages in varying environments.
· Educated customers about software use over phone and in classroom environment.
· Collaborated with software engineers to resolve issues and enhance functionality.
· Upheld 24-hour readiness with critical sites and support servers to ensure system integrity.
· Worked together with individual sites and organizations to plan and execute seamless system integration.

Witt Biomedical
Customer Support/Manufacturing Technician (2002-2004)
· Fielded customer phone calls and troubleshot hardware related complaints via telephone and modem.
· Dispatched field service technicians to affect on-site repairs when required.
· Maintained database of customer complaints and subsequent solutions.
· Trained hospital biomedical technicians on network structure, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
· Assembled computer systems for cardiac catheterization laboratories.
· Gained proficiency in Microsoft’s Windows 2000 Professional, Server, and XP Professional.
· Authored new manufacturing procedures and updated existing procedures.

C-MAC Electronic Manufacturing
PC Technician (1999-2001)
· Assisted Network Administrator with network maintenance in both Novell and NT environments.
· Created and maintained user accounts and security.
· Administered a user-support help desk.
· Gained proficiency in Microsoft’s Outlook, Excel, Word, and Windows 9x and NT.
· Configured new computer workstations for employees from the ground up.
· Implemented hardware/software auditing for two sites.
· Troubleshot PC hardware and software issues.
· Provided hands-on training and instruction to users.
· Installed upgrades on client computers.

CompUSA
PC Configuration Technician (1995-1999)
· Configured and installed components into customers PCs.
· Provided training on software packages.
· Recommended products and services to customers.
· Attended educational seminars for newest products.

EDUCATION
Brevard Community College
· Associate In Arts in General Studies
· Heavy emphasis in networking, routing, and security including Cisco and Linux training

VOLUNTEER/COMMUNITY SERVICE
Civil Air Patrol (1989-2002)
· Trained cadets in leadership and followership skills.
· Performed search and rescue for downed pilots and missing persons.
· Educated members and public on aerospace and related subjects.

Malabar Volunteer Fire Department (2000-2003)
· Qualified driver for Rescue and Squad vehicles.
· Maintained State of Florida Class D Drivers License with Emergency Vehicle endorsement.
· Certified First Responder

Summer Afternoon Space Shuttle Launches

It's launch day for STS-127. Again. It was launch day on Monday, and it was launch day on Sunday before that, but both launches were scrubbed for weather. Lightning, high winds, clouds, and precipitation all have to be considered before a "go" is given for the launch. Since Space Shuttle launches are manned, the weather at the backup landing facilities must also be considered in the event of a failure that prevents the orbiter from reaching orbit. I found this 16-page document which seems to lay out all of the weather-specific requirements for launch. Feel free to peruse it.

So why would mission managers and rocket scientists, presumably some of the smartest people on this planet, decide to set a launch window right smack dab in the middle of a thunderstorm-infested summer afternoon? Sounds like a pretty simple decision, right?

Not so much.

See, there's no weather in space. The targets that we are trying to hit in space, such as the International Space Station in STS-127, don't exactly care what the weather is like in Florida when they are passing overhead. Consider a hunter trying to shoot a duck while it is flying. The hunter has to lead the flying duck so that his bullet meets the duck mid-flight. If that duck's flight path takes it behind a tree, the hunter won't have a clear shot and may miss the target. The hunter only has a narrow "window" of opportunity in which to hit his target.

When the NASA engineers select the time for each mission's launch window, it has very little, if anything, to do with the general weather pattern at the launch facility, and everything to do with hitting the target in space. If weather gets in the way, they can't just wait until it clears. Instead, they have to wait until the next time the target is in the appropriate position relative to the launch site.

It's all about tragectory, not Florida's summer afternoon climate.

Sun 'n Fun Splash-In 2009

As many of you know, I attended the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In this year in Lakeland, Florida. The event is held at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (KLAL) in April every year and lasts six days. In the past, I have only gone for one day. This year, I decided to go for the entire week. I also decided to volunteer for the first time.

It was amazing.

I don't want to go much into the details of the week on this post, but there was one event that I really wanted to attend, the Splash-In. This year, like last year, the Splash-In was held on Lake Agnus at Fantasy Of Flight. This is the second year that the event was held here.

Here's the kicker: since this was my fist time at the Splash-In, I really wanted to, you know, splash in. So I aksed my volunteer chairman, and he made a call, and the next thing I knew I was scheduled for a flight in a seaplane first thing in the morning the day of the event.

Yeah baby!

My pilot, Bob Stebbins, took me for a short flight in his Lake LA4. I streamed the first half of the flight live on the internet using my cellular phone. You can see that video here: http://www.qik.com/video/1529677

Also, Jo Hunter from FuturShox just happened to be onsite at the time shooting airplanes with some of her high-end camera equipment. Check out these awesome photos of my flybys:

If you look real close, you can see me in the right seat wearing my white Airspeed baseball cap. You can find more of Jo's work at http://www.futurshox.net/.

If you ever get a chance to fly in a seaplane, GO FOR IT! This was an experience I will never forget. Now I really want an amphib...

Aviator Food

I tweeted today that I was looking forward to tonight's dinner menu, mentioning something about my wife's awesome baked macaroni and cheese. This, not surprisingly, brought about the flurry requests for my address and invitations to dinner. Why am I bothering to put this on an aviation-themed blog? Well, because it's my blog, and pilots gotta eat, too.

As expected, it was delicious. In fact, it was even better than I remember it. Eat your heart out, or better yet, make yourself some, and eat it all gone! Here's the recipe:

Macaroni Au Gratin

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ qt water
• 3 Tbs margarine
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ½ C. flour
• ½ lb. macaroni
• 3 ½ C. milk
• 1 ½ C. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• Dash of salt
• Dash of white pepper

Cheese Topping:

• 1 TBS plus 1 tsp flour
• 1 TBS margarine, well chilled
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ C. sharp cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Bring water and salt to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add macaroni and cook until tender, approximately 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.

To make sauce, melt the margarine in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour and white pepper. Cook at least 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Slowly add milk, continuing to stir until sauce thickens. Add salt and shredded cheese. Stir just until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

For the topping, mix the flour and paprika, then add margarine and shredded cheese just until texture is crumb-like.

To assemble, mix together macaroni with cheese sauce. Pour into a medium-size casserole. Sprinkle on the topping and bake until the crust begins to brown and the casserole in bubbling, approximately 45 minutes.

We are thankful for ...

I woke up this morning thankful that the sun woke me up and not my alarm. I kissed my wife and told her "Happy Thanksgiving, honey." Soon I had a steamy cup of coffee in-hand, and as I sat in front of my computer reading the night's tweets, it occured to me to ask my Twitter followers what things they are thankful for. The inspiration for this certainly came from Steve Tupper's "You Might Be a Pilot" quest a few weeks ago.

The following is a of the responses I got throughout the day.

I am thankful ...

• for my awesome children, great friends, and a family who is there for me even though the distance is huge!


• that I have a job.


• for emergency responders who are working hard today.


• for the men and women of the armed forces protecting me from all enemies, foreign and domestic.


• for kids that scream "Daddy! Daddy!" as soon as I get home from work.


• for my friends and family. They are the absolute best!


• for the listens and viewers of my podcast. Without you, there would be no point. (many of us share this sentiment)


• for the patient competence of CFIs.


• that people spend a lot of time, effort, and more $$$ than I'll ever have keeping historically significant planes flying


• I live in the country where flying is the cheapest "free-est", still true despite the efforts of the government.


• for airplanes. But that was too easy. ;)


• I did such a good job of prepping yesterday that I have nothing to cook until after noon today.


• for health, freedom, good friends, good weather at the right time. Next year I'd like to be thankful for a less volatile stock market.


• for nights when the pager doesn't go off.


• for just enough cream to lighten my morning coffee.


• for the four 'F's'; Family, Friends, Food, and Football!


• for birds. Those we watch, those we fly, and those we eat!


• for approach lights at 300 AGL.


• for turbines, radar, heated wings.


• for ATC.


• for heated cowls, de-ice fluid, APU's, more thrust then you need (because there'll come a time you do need it all)


• for Jesus' life, death, and resurection.


• for happy gate agents!!!


• for the kindness & thoughtful sentiments from all my friends, both near and far!


• that the Cowboys spanked the Seahawks today ;)

A special thanks to all of the contributors, whose Twitter IDs are: sirclown82, DodieLA, isuhawkeye, hollyrn76, StephenForce, flyingcheezhead, rwc101010, yaksierra, billwil, PlaneMadness, carriecotter, and motorbikematt.

Preflighting

I've decided to bring my blog back to life. Turning Final has been grounded for quite some time now. I have never really had any clear direction in mind to take it, and as a result it just became a "whatever I wanna write about" sort of place. I suspect it still will be, but I intend to write mostly about aviation-related topics that interest me. Most of the subject matter will probably revolve around, well, me. I'll be blogging about flights I take or lessons I've endured. Any trips I take that require the use of an airplane, especially those done in the company Navajo, will also be written about here.

The caveat is this: I will not get posting here regularly. I simply don't have the time. Now I know someone is going to give me the line about how no blog ever "takes off" unless there is new material there every day.

I. Don't. Care.

I'm not here to try to become the defacto aviation blog-o-rama king. I'll let my Twitter followers know where there's a new blog post (you can follow me on Twitter: DaveFlys) and I'll try to keep it somewhat fresh. Just keep in mind I'm doing this in my limited free time and with only limited aviation experience. After all, I'm not a pilot ... yet.

Flying Over the Indian River

I took this photo from the back seat of a Piper Arrow rented from Merritt Island, FL back in December of 2004. My friend Ken was piloting with his dad sitting right seat. I had the whole back seat to myself to take photos and video.

This particular picture was during the initial climbout from Merritt Island Airport. We headed from here down to St. Lucie International Airport for a touch-and-go, then to Vero Beach for lunch. Then we headed back home.

I've got a bunch more of these photos if you are interested in them!