July-August 2022 - 25

Alisa Lockwood
Aircraft Maintenance Technician, Delta Air Lines
Age: 37
Hometown: St. Petersburg,
Russia
Alma mater: Aviation
Institute of Maintenance and
Kuban State University of
Physical Culture, Sports and
Tourism.
Fun fact: I like to kite surf.
Favorite thing about
aviation: The smell of jet
fuel over a sunrise on the hot
runway.
A lifelong fascination with aircraft and machines
inspired Alisa Lockwood to begin studying in 2017.
She truly enjoys her work as an aircraft maintenance
technician for Delta at the Atlanta hub. Here
are some of the reasons why:
* " I love working in an industry where you put
all your focus on a small, but crucial area -
and your work contributes to this beautiful,
gigantic machine that takes off so gracefully
into the skies. "
* " I like working hard and being in an environment
where you can learn from others. "
* " I've always loved travel and seeing different
parts of the world, and I appreciate being able
to do that while participating in the field. "
Lockwood said she would love to see the industry
actively recruit more women.
Something that she sees as overlooked in the
industry is the value of insight from the last generation.
She feels that there's so much to be learned on
the job with the guidance of those that have been
there the longest. Lockwood believes that with so
many new technicians being hired, the industry
should be sure to harness the knowledge of the
most experienced technicians before they retire.
She also feels that a broader promotion of aviation
education would benefit the industry. " There
are so many facets of aviation education that are
valuable from elementary school on. "
Lockwood is doing her part to promote the
industry and its opportunities through Instagram
and her 29,000 followers. She's shared images
of things like an emergency side deployment
test, a WiFi antenna, and a Boeing 767-300 MLG
retraction check. She poses trivia questions to
her audience and offers encouragement: " Trust
in your craft enough to admire it, study it, perfect
it, breathe it. Never stop getting better at whatever
it is that you love to do. "
She also receives a lot of questions about the
industry from others considering a career in aviation.
She often gets asked what area of maintenance
is her favorite. Sheet metal is the answer.
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James Alexander McPherson
Program Manager, Fleet and Deployment Services,
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
As the company-owned Fleet Sustainment
Program Manager
for General Atomics
Age: 36
Hometown: Fraser,
Michigan
Alma Mater: Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University
Someone I look up to in the
industry: Scott Kelly
Favorite hobby: One of my
hobbies is taking care of a
small citrus grove.
Favorite thing about
aviation is: Aviation brings
the world closer together.
Aeronautical Systems - the OEM for the MQ-9
Reaper, MQ-9B SkyGuardian, MQ-1 Predator and
MQ-1C Gray Eagle - James McPherson said his
enjoyment comes from putting out new technology
into the world.
" Although I am primarily maintenance focused,
modification of aircraft is part of maintenance
and I really enjoy not only putting out new technology
into the world, but deploying it and then
keeping it sustained. I think that's really a cool job, "
he continued.
McPherson's duties see him making sure the fleet
of aircraft has everything it needs to continue to
operate.
" Spares, support equipment, tech manuals, betterments
and upgrades to keep these aircraft
up to date with what our government customers
are experiencing. I'm also responsible for taking
care of prototype, one of kind aircraft. As we build
new aircraft from development efforts, you build a
handful of 'one offs' while you mature the design
for production, " he described.
Out of high school, McPherson joined the Navy,
where he fell in love with aviation.
" After signing the dotted line in the military, not
really knowing what I was getting into, I kind of
lucked out. I didn't realize how much I would really
enjoy this field, " he said. " I think it's one of the few
industries where you see a lot of dreams kind of
come true. So, we start with kind of an idea and
then we build the idea and then we get to tangibly
see it go. "
McPherson has a master's in Aeronautics from
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
" Our technicians and mechanics are incredibly
sophisticated individuals. Traditionally you think of
the mechanic as a grease monkey, but nowadays
they're closer to engineers and sometimes more
highly trained than that, just because these systems
are so complex. I think that's not really well
appreciated. I think we think of a dirty mechanic
crawling around and he's probably not too bright,
but the mechanics are really intelligent and highly
skilled people. Without them, we wouldn't have
the near-perfect safety record in aviation that we
have, " he said.
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July-August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July-August 2022
