By BRIAN JONES, The Commercial Dispatch
COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — It started with the “Spirit of St. Louis.”
This “Spirit of St. Louis” was a B-2 bomber at an airshow. It was very impressive, especially to a young child. It didn’t hurt that the child’s uncle was the pilot, and his name was painted there on the fuselage for all to see.
“That’s what got me interested in aviation,” said Matt Dowell, 32. “I wanted to be a pilot, just like my uncle.”
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It was the start of a journey that would lead Dowell, who grew up on a farm in Port Gibson, to being the deputy director at Golden Triangle Regional Airport. He was hired straight out of graduate school to be the airport’s operations manager, but now has risen to the number two post.
“Growing up on a cattle farm, my idea of different jobs was pretty small,” he said. “It was eye-opening to see military aircraft and realize (planes) were not just a means of transportation, but a career field. After seeing my uncle and the life he had, it made me consider (aviation) as a really neat career opportunity.”
In high school, Dowell said he was able to take an introductory flight at Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport. The short hop around the field included take-offs and landings, and he was briefly able to hold the controls.
“I found I wasn’t sick when I flew, which was helpful, and I wasn’t scared,” he said. He was hooked.
Luckily both Hinds and Delta State offered aviation programs.
“It definitely would have been harder for me to pursue if those programs weren’t offered in state,” he said. “I probably would have pursued the military route.”
It wasn’t until fairly late in the game that Dowell considered working at an airport rather than flying, though.
“For a long time my career projection was that I would fly for the airlines,” he said. “People come to aviation because they have a love of flying. It wasn’t until I got to graduate school that I really considered the area of airport management.”
By that time Dowell had gotten an associate’s degree at Hinds, and a bachelor’s at Delta State, all in commercial aviation. He had also racked up enough flight time to become an instructor pilot, and was teaching the next generation of young pilots part-time.
Going into an administrative track seemed more compelling, he said.
“I can be around aviation every day, but with a lot of commercial pilot jobs you’re gone two weeks and then off two weeks,” he said. “I’m married and have four kids, and being at home is really great and one of the reasons I really love this job.”
Because GTRA is a small airport, Dowell has to wear many hats. There is the administrative side, with payroll and personnel and day-to-day maintenance. Then there’s the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport’s source of inspections and grants. Then there are the odder aspects: containing deer and hogs — now kept out by a fence — that otherwise might wander onto the runway at unfortunate times, and scaring off birds, which also pose a risk of collision.
“Vultures can be a problem,” he said. “You wouldn’t think they would be attracted to a runway, because it’s not a food source, but apparently it helps warm them up. We also have migratory birds to worry about, as well as everything from swallows to blackbirds. We have a game fence now, but before that deer and hogs were a concern if you had someone landing at night, especially.”
The wide range of responsibilities is part of the charm, he said.
“Every day is different, but I really enjoy the diversity and the different things I get to work on every day,” he said.
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