CARBONDALE - A handsome Gulfstream G450 business jet - owned by Abbott Laboratories and parked in front of Southern Illinois Airport on Friday - was a good example of what the 10th annual Southern Illinois University Carbondale Corporate Aviation/General Aviation Career Day was all about.

"It's a mobile office owned by Abbott that specializes in pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics, nutritional and medical devices," said Abbott Chief Pilot Brian Hallin, a 1994 SIUC flight management graduate.

He pilots it on international flights, anywhere from 20 to 30 times annually, as Abbott does business in 130 countries. One of the most interesting places he has piloted the plane is Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

"This points out to prospects in the flight industry there are more jobs out there than just the airlines," said Chairman/Professor David A. NewMyer of SIUC's Department of Aviation Management and Flight, which hosted the career day.

It was earmarked for potential flight management students and their parents, and included introductory flights in addition to tours of SIUC's aviation facilities.

Hallin joined other SIUC flight management graduates in an afternoon panel discussion as each talked about their interest to fly, attending SIUC and the direction of their career paths.

Another SIUC flight graduate, Capt. Eric Basile of SC Aviation Inc., talked about the value of getting a four-year college degree at SIUC and the career possibilities outside of the airlines.

"I didn't know what corporate aviation was all about. The public perception is a corporate jet is a flashy thing. A perk. But that's not what it's all about. Many companies use airplanes as a vital corporate tool. Corporations such as Menards and Walmart stores use their own airplanes very effectively. The scope of corporate aviation throughout the United States is amazing," Basile said.

In addition to large corporations owning their aircraft, there are corporate jet lines which are leased for vital functions such as transporting surgical organ transplant teams at a moment's notice, he said.

According to an information sheet NewMyer passed out to those attending the afternoon panel discussion, the U.S. aviation industry in 2011 employs slightly more than 2 million people.

scott.fitzgerald@thesouthern.com

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