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PROGRAM GAVE RUD THE CONFIDENCE TO SUCCEED

By Pete Rosenbery

The foundation for Capt. Jay Rud’s nearly 30-year career as a pilot with American Airlines came from what he learned while at SIU Carbondale.

“Completing a very comprehensive technical degree and knowing that SIU had a nationally recognized aviation program gave me confidence in my education and ability,” Rud said. “In addition, with SIU being a nationally recognized aviation program, American Airlines had confidence in my educational foundation, something I'm certain impacted their choice to hire me almost 30 years ago.”

Rud, who was from Sandwich, was familiar with the university because his older brother attended SIU. Rud loved the area and was interested in aviation, so it was “a perfect fit,” he said.

Enrolling in SIU in 1980, Rud graduated in three years, earning his bachelor’s degree in technical careers and an associate degree in aviation technologies. He also holds an airframe and power plant mechanics license with inspector authorization, and numerous Federal Aviation Administration pilot ratings.

Rud has been active with American Airlines Career Days each fall, where high school students interested in aviation fly from Chicago to campus to tour the university and learn about the program. In the 10 years American operated the event, more than 1,000 potential students flew from Chicago, with many of those choosing to attend the university, he said.

Rud was the college’s 2006 Distinguished Alumni recipient and is an active participant in the college and aviation program.

“I’ve had a very successful career in my chosen field,” he said. “I’m certain this would not be true if I didn’t have the educational foundation I received at SIU. Because of this, I feel it’s important to give back so other young adults may have the same opportunities that I have had.”

Hired by American Airlines in 1986, Rud became a captain at 29, and held a variety of positions through the years, including piloting Boeing 767s to Europe, the Caribbean and Hawaii. He also supervised approximately 1,600 American Airlines pilots at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. He is now a 787 “X” type check airman, training new pilots in simulators for both their initial training and required recurrent training. He also trains pilots for line qualification and proficiency flying to Asia, South America and in the near future, Europe.

Rud was one of American Airlines’ initial captain/check airman for the 787 program. He was involved in developing the training program and assisting in the FAA certification process of the 787 at American Airlines. This included simulator training, route and airport verification and training the initial pilots who would eventually fly the 787 in scheduled service. One of the duties in this process included flying the airplane, prior to scheduled service, to many future destinations including Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; London, England, and Buenos Aries, Argentina.

The current market outlook from Boeing for 2015-2034 seems to suggest the demand for pilots and planes, particularly on an international level, will increase.

“As large airlines expand internationally, the requirement for a larger domestic operation follows in order to feed that international operation,” Rud said. “This demand is met by increasing seat capacity on our domestic routes and expanding the feed the mainline airlines get from their regional airline affiliates. This growth will increase the demand for more pilots at the large major airlines, in fact, the demand is already there.”

Rud said the regional airline industry supplies the largest number of pilots to the major airlines, which opens up a “huge opportunity” for those considering a career as a professional pilot.