Avionics News October 2016 - 48

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Carey Miller of Universal Avionics Systems Corp.

with our associated customers.
In addition to this role, I have
been managing business development - and I'm also a captain on the
company's Citation VII as a demo
pilot. I'm one of three pilots; the
other two pilots are primarily test
pilots. When it comes to marketing our products with potential
customers, I'm there to help demo
the equipment. In addition to the
Citation VII, we have an F90 King Air.

How did your interest
in aviation develop?
daughters.
wife, Niki, and two
Carey Miller with his

niversal Avionics is a leading
manufacturer of innovative
avionics systems offered as
retrofit and forward-fit solutions for
the largest diversification of aircraft
types in the industry. Markets served
include business, special missions,
government/military, airline (regional/
commercial), helicopter and OEMs.
Recently, Avionics News spoke to
Carey Miller to learn more about his
work at Universal Avionics and his life
outside the office.
Are you in a new position at
Universal Avionics?
Yes, I was recently promoted to director of corporate programs and business
development. My team manages the
success of our current programs where
engineering effort is usually involved
and is the direct line of communication
48

avionics news

october

2016

With...

Flying is something I
always wanted to do. When
I was 13 or 14 years old,
we took a trip from Iowa
to San Diego in a Boeing
727, and I wanted to be a
pilot ever since. As soon as I
graduated from high school,
I started flying. I attended
the University of Dubuque
and received a bachelor's
degree in flight operations
and aviation management.
While in college, I worked
at an FBO as a lineman
fueling, cleaning and towing
airplanes. After graduation,
I was promoted to an
assistant manager of line
service and flew right-seat
in a King Air 200, making a
whopping $16,000 a year.

You were lucky?
Oh yes, I was. While others in my
class were flight instructing after
college, I started flying a corporate
King Air 200 out of school. I ended
up a few years later in Fargo, North
Dakota, as chief pilot for a hotel
development company. I remember
winter mornings in Fargo where
there were no heated hangars big
enough for the King Air 200, and I'd
run space heaters in the cabin 24/7.
I remember two particular mornings
where I couldn't start the airplane
until it warmed up to 40 below
zero. I was there five years, and
Fargo is where I met my wife.
Do you have both good and
bad memories of Fargo?
I know it's cold, but the people
were super-nice. It's a safe, clean
place to live. We ended up selling
the King Air 200, and I was fortunate enough to take delivery of a
brand new Beechjet from the factory. Because it was quite a bit different than the old King Air I was
flying, I took some additional avionics training from the manufacturer.
As it turned out, they were looking
for a pilot trainer and I went to
work for them in Cedar Rapids. This
led to a sales support role, then
regional sales, and finally technical
sales after more than 10 years.
What happened next?
I heard about an opening at
Universal Avionics in Tucson that
allowed me to start flying again,
and the winters were getting a little

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News October 2016