Avionics News July 2012 - 54

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Miguel Correa of Cal Labs
about a possible job there for me. We drove to Texas, and a few days later, I had my interview with Dallas Avionics and got hired.

With...
What’s the corporate culture like at Dallas Avionics and Cal Labs?
It is a small-company environment. Everyone is like family, and people stay a long time. I’ve been here for 18 years, and I still feel like one of the new guys – we’re all growing old with the company. We all get along well; we watch each other’s kids grow. The person who started the company – Johnny Davis – always hired the top people. When you look around the company, you see everyone is a good person. I have tried to carry that forward in my own hiring – Johnny is no longer with us. When it comes to hiring technicians, I like to use a baseball analogy. Some people are good enough to play Little League, some people can play on high school and college teams, and very few people can play in the major leagues. Even though we’re a small company, I always try to get the top people whose troubleshooting skills are very sharp. There are only five techs at Cal Labs, yet we work on 6,800 pieces of equipment per year. We need people who can troubleshoot a piece of equipment in a few hours, not someone who takes all day.

technician in 1994, and was appointed general manager in 1997.

What is Radio Masters?
Radio Masters is a small repair station. We have a full radio rating limited to accessories and instruments, and we are mostly limited to equipment that Dallas Avionics sells. We concentrate on the repair and certification of Technisonic Industries radios and Laserdyne Technologies monitors for FLIR systems.

d his orrea an Miguel C

ria. wife, Glo

What were you doing prior to starting at Cal Labs in 1994?
I was born in Puerto Rico, and I come from a military family. I tried to go to school, but didn’t finish. I got married, joined the Army Reserve and ran out of money. I joined the active duty Air Force as an avionics technician, and on my second enlistment, I changed to calibration so I had four years as an avionics tech and four years as a calibrator.

al Labs Inc. has provided calibration services to the aviation industry for 37 years. Recently, Patricia Luebke, Avionics News contributor, spoke with Miguel Correa to learn more about his work at Cal Labs.

C

Tell me about your job at Cal Labs?
I am the general manager of Cal Labs, which is one of three companies (Dallas Avionics, Cal Labs and Radio Masters) owned by the same family. Cal Labs is a company specializing in the calibration and repair of avionics test equipment. We service the aviation industry almost exclusively. Cal Labs has been around since 1975, and owned by Dallas Avionics since 1978. I started as a
54
avionics news

How did you make the connection with Cal Labs?
On my last day in the Air Force, I was in Plattsburgh, N.Y. My wife was in the Air Force, and neither of us wanted to go back to Puerto Rico. We decided to locate to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. On the last day, a colleague said he heard we were going to Dallas, and he knew

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Avionics News July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News July 2012

Point of Communication
AEA Now
The View From Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
Going Glass
Member Profile
Extra Avionics
Member Profile
Glass Panel Upgrades
Aviation Aces
Business Basics
Member Profile
A Conversation With...
Making A Difference
Theory & Practice
Legal Ease
Meet the AEA Staff
What's New
Marketplace Classifies
Avionics News July 2012 - Cover1
Avionics News July 2012 - Cover2
Avionics News July 2012 - 1
Avionics News July 2012 - 2
Avionics News July 2012 - 3
Avionics News July 2012 - Point of Communication
Avionics News July 2012 - 5
Avionics News July 2012 - AEA Now
Avionics News July 2012 - 7
Avionics News July 2012 - 8
Avionics News July 2012 - 9
Avionics News July 2012 - 10
Avionics News July 2012 - 11
Avionics News July 2012 - 12
Avionics News July 2012 - 13
Avionics News July 2012 - The View From Washington
Avionics News July 2012 - 15
Avionics News July 2012 - International News and Regulatory Updates
Avionics News July 2012 - 17
Avionics News July 2012 - 18
Avionics News July 2012 - 19
Avionics News July 2012 - Going Glass
Avionics News July 2012 - 21
Avionics News July 2012 - 22
Avionics News July 2012 - 23
Avionics News July 2012 - Member Profile
Avionics News July 2012 - 25
Avionics News July 2012 - 26
Avionics News July 2012 - 27
Avionics News July 2012 - Extra Avionics
Avionics News July 2012 - 29
Avionics News July 2012 - 30
Avionics News July 2012 - 31
Avionics News July 2012 - 32
Avionics News July 2012 - 33
Avionics News July 2012 - Member Profile
Avionics News July 2012 - 35
Avionics News July 2012 - 36
Avionics News July 2012 - 37
Avionics News July 2012 - Glass Panel Upgrades
Avionics News July 2012 - 39
Avionics News July 2012 - 40
Avionics News July 2012 - 41
Avionics News July 2012 - 42
Avionics News July 2012 - 43
Avionics News July 2012 - Aviation Aces
Avionics News July 2012 - 45
Avionics News July 2012 - 46
Avionics News July 2012 - 47
Avionics News July 2012 - Business Basics
Avionics News July 2012 - 49
Avionics News July 2012 - Member Profile
Avionics News July 2012 - 51
Avionics News July 2012 - 52
Avionics News July 2012 - 53
Avionics News July 2012 - A Conversation With...
Avionics News July 2012 - 55
Avionics News July 2012 - Making A Difference
Avionics News July 2012 - 57
Avionics News July 2012 - Theory & Practice
Avionics News July 2012 - 59
Avionics News July 2012 - Legal Ease
Avionics News July 2012 - 61
Avionics News July 2012 - Meet the AEA Staff
Avionics News July 2012 - 63
Avionics News July 2012 - 64
Avionics News July 2012 - 65
Avionics News July 2012 - What's New
Avionics News July 2012 - 67
Avionics News July 2012 - 68
Avionics News July 2012 - 69
Avionics News July 2012 - Marketplace Classifies
Avionics News July 2012 - 71
Avionics News July 2012 - 72
Avionics News July 2012 - Cover3
Avionics News July 2012 - Cover4
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