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Aviation career day tour showed ‘premier program’

Joseph SchusterBy Pete Rosenbery

Joseph Schuster had little doubt where he would attend college after touring the aviation flight and maintenance programs during a career day visit nearly 20 years ago.

Schuster was like many alumni who are first introduced to SIU Carbondale’s aviation programs during a career day visit.

 “After the tour of the SIU aviation program and comparing it to other schools, there was little doubt that it was the premier program and that I would enroll,” Schuster, a 2005 graduate in aviation technologies, said.

Schuster is the College of Applied Sciences and Arts’ 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and he spoke at Honors Day, April 8.

He is manager of the accessories, calibration and engine shop for Jet Aviation St. Louis, Inc., in Cahokia. In that position, Schuster is an operations manager with oversight of the accessory shop, calibration department, non-destructive testing and turbine engine shops. He supervises about 20 technicians.

Aviation faculty played a large role in his success as a student, Schuster said.

“The aviation technology professors coupled with the outstanding curriculum, training aides and facilities, did a fantastic job preparing me with a solid foundation of knowledge and principles,” he said. “This enabled me to quickly grow as an entry level airframe and powerplant technician.  With the knowledge and hands-on experience gained while at SIU I was able to quickly progress in the real world.”

A member of the Department of Aviation Technologies advisory committee since 2014, he is a mentor to students and advises faculty on emerging trends within the aviation industry. He has been instrumental in securing large donations of aircraft and equipment, Michael Burgener, department chair in aviation technologies and interim chair of the Department of Aviation Management and Flight, said.

Burgener credits Schuster with securing in 2015 an invaluable resource in aircraft and avionics maintenance training – a U.S. Navy Gulfstream III C20A. Built in 1982, the jet, which is for ground use only and not flyable, features two Rolls Royce engines.

“Through Joe’s efforts, SIU aviation gained a valuable training aid,” Burgener wrote in his nomination letter. “This aircraft, worth millions, is now the newest aircraft in our maintenance training fleet. It has all the modern systems that our program lacked. Our students benefit by having a newer, more relevant aircraft on which to learn.”

Students are working with the same airframe they will encounter once they graduate.

“This alone makes this donation incredibly valuable to our students and goes beyond the monetary value, which is also considerable,” Burgener wrote.

The process of rescuing a jet from likely being scrapped took more than a year. Schuster said that when he floated the idea of the U.S. Navy donating the aircraft to SIU, he joked that the Catbird “could claim its ninth life training future aviation maintenance technicians while potentially saving the government money on the cost of scrapping the aircraft.”

Schuster also credits U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Larry Lafary, CNAFR aviation maintenance chief, and U.S. Navy Capt. BC Young, an SIU alumnus who is deputy chief of staff for aviation maintenance, in gaining the aircraft.

“It was awesome watching the aircraft make its last landing in Carbondale knowing that future students would benefit from hands-on training for years to come,” Schuster said. “When I initially pitched the idea I didn’t have very high expectations that it could happen, so it was really special when it did.”

Schuster’s passion for aviation developed and grew as a young child when he split time between northeastern New Mexico and central Illinois. Schuster and his sister flew several times a year between St. Louis and Colorado Springs, Colo., and he was often invited to visit the cockpit by pilots.

“My most memorable experience was getting to read the preflight checklist to the captain and learning about all the different buttons and switches,” Schuster said. “I was absolutely fascinated with airplanes and have had the aviation bug since.”

After graduating from SIU Carbondale, Schuster joined Midcoast Aviation at the St. Louis Downtown Airport, working as an aircraft technician on many different models of aircraft, eventually specializing in the Bombardier Global Express and Gulfstream airframes. Midcoast Aviation transitioned to Jet Aviation and Schuster became a lead technician, supervising five people. A short time later Schuster was named supervisor of the C-20 Depot and responsible for a team of 20 technicians.  It was then Schuster became aware of the jets availability.

Schuster lives in Maryville with his wife, Angela, and their son, Jackson. Schuster said he has “been very fortunate” and is committed to “paying it forward” to the aviation program.

Schuster said his experience and lessons learned while in the aviation technology program were great benefits. Students must also take advantage of the opportunities to network with people in the industry.

“It is the premier aviation maintenance program,” he said. “The instructors, facilities, equipment and curriculum are unmatched.  Upon graduating, the students are well prepared and have gained the knowledge and skills to become successful in the industry.”