Avionics News March 2016 - 81

avionics background, it wasn't hard
to do. I remember the Pope visited
the island one time, and the area he
was in nearly crashed our system.
There were just way too many
people; it was just unbelievable."
On the side, Pickron worked as a
technician in the Caribbean nation,
installing instruments and avionics in
small general aviation aircraft.
"I was involved with some neat
installations," he said. "I would work
on the aircraft on the weekends or
when I had time. It was a dream job.
I loved it down there. The people
were just fantastic. I was there when
the middle class was just starting to
emerge. It was neat to watch. The
people were talking about getting
their first car and their first house
and starting families. They were just
a very friendly people."
Homesick and missing his
daughters, Pickron returned once
again to the U.S. at Christmastime
in 1996. He spent the next year
and a half working for Lucent
Technologies setting up cell sites
in Norfolk, Virginia, and Phoenix,
Arizona. Lucent sent Pickron to
Korea and Japan to help with their
cell service. After 45 days on the
road, he was exhausted.
"I remember telling myself
that this traveling the world was
for the young," Pickron said. "I
was getting too old for this. I was
reading the newspaper and saw
a classified ad for an avionics
technician. I came down and
interviewed with Southeast, and
I've been here ever since."
Pickron's advice
When asked for advice for young
people thinking about a career in
avionics, Pickron said aviation
has been incredibly rewarding and
satisfying for him.
"If you're experienced and
you're willing to go where the

work is, you'll always have a job
in aviation," he said. "If you have
that mindset, and you want to use
your hands and your head, I think
electronics and avionics is a great
career."
Pickron particularly enjoys the
complexity and circuitry of radio
altimeters and GPS.
"I've always found mechanical
things fascinating," he said. "I like
figuring out how the systems work.
There's no better feeling than when
you've tackled a really complex
problem and you finally, finally
change out that last part and you
turn it on and it actually works. I
love it. There's so much to learn in
this field. It seems like every day
I'm learning something new, and
that's one of the things I love about
this field."
While the equipment is different
and the flying is different, the
sense of teamwork hasn't changed
over the years for Pickron.
"Maybe I've just been lucky in
my career, but I've seen a lot of
that willingness to work together,"
he said. "The mechanics I worked
with during those early days were
just as dedicated, just as sincere in
doing a great job as those today.
I've seen very little change in the
attitude of technicians. I still see
that today at Southeast Aerospace.
We have technicians here who are
fantastic when it comes to working
with the aircraft and on the bench."
After five decades in aviation,
Pickron is hoping to retire in the
next couple of years. He's looking
forward to spending time with
family and friends as well as doing
more fishing and hunting.
"I have three fantastic
grandchildren who I can't wait to
spend some time with, and then
a little bit of gardening," he said.
"I have plenty to do. I'm actually
looking forward to it." q

Trust
Millennial
Technologies and
Garmin to keep
you ﬂying.
Millennial Technologies, LLC
and Garmin bring you
the most elite
avionics services.

We specialize in:
*Avionics Installations
*Glass Cockpit
*Radar Systems
*Entertainment Systems
FAA Part 145
Certiﬁed Repair Station
Millennial Technologies
14850 NW 44th Court, Suite 205.
Opa-Locka, FL 33054. USA
Phone: +1 (954) 489-9091
www.mnltech.com
Sales@mnltech.com

avionics news

*

march

2016

81
http://www.mnltech.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News March 2016
