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PROFESSIONALISM 40 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY SUSAN DUSENBURY'S CAREER IN AVIATION started early in South Carolina. She received her private pilot's certificate during her senior year in high school. And while in college she earned her commercial, multi-engine, instrument, and flight instructor certificates. Dusenbury graduated with a degree in accounting and business administration from Francis Marion University, and went on receive her Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics Certificate. To pay for her training and education she worked as a mechanics helper at H.A. Springer Aircraft Repair and in the cafeteria and library at school. While at Winthrop College (now Winthrop University) she earned her FAA Flight Instructors Rating. Ray Clark, owner and operator of Aero Flight in Florence, SC, told her if she wanted a job after graduation to come back, and she did. FLYING She wanted to fly. And that was accomplished; first with Aero Flight, then as a free-lance flight instructor and then as a part-time co-pilot flying Twin Beeches and a DC-3 for Fiber Control out of Gastonia, NC. Dusenbury also had a week- end job flight instructing for Red McCord's FBO also in Gastonia. At one point Susan instructed out of Charlotte Douglas Municipal Airport (now Charlotte/Douglas International Airport) for Cannon Aviation. It was at that time that Dusenbury used a portion of her flight instructor earnings and took aerobatic instruction from Dwight Cross Jr. in his Citabria at Bradford Field near Charlotte. Susan recalled that she could only afford 30 minutes of aerobatic training one day per week. During her time at Winthrop College, Dusenbury also earned both a multi-engine and instrument rat- ing. It was then that she transferred to Francis Marion College (now University) and Florence-Darlington TEC. After graduation from Francis Marion she instructed in the Airframe and Powerplant program at Florence-Darlington TEC working under her for- mer instructors Homer Roberts and Homer Pointe. During her time in Florence, Dusenbury owned and flew both a Luscombe 8A and later an experi- mental one-of-its-kind Rogers-Gibson Acrocraft. She also bought an Aeronca 7AC Champ project which she restored to flying condition. The next step was flying a Navajo Chiefton for a small commuter airline named Air Carolina that operated a shuttle service from Florence to Charlotte Douglas Airport, and later an upstart commuter airline by the name of Air Virginia also flying Navajo Chieftons. Eventually she transi- tioned to the twin engine turboprop Swearingen Metroliner, and about five years later took a job with the State of Virginia flying a Beechcraft King Air 200. Her duties included flying then Governor Chuck Robb. Susan applied for a pilot position with Airborne Express (now ABXAir) located in Wilmington, OH, and was hired initially to fly the Nihon YS-11 and later the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series aircraft. Dusenbury retired from ABXAir after nearly 25 years of flying night freight. Susan Dusenbury, president of the Vintage Aircra Association, describes her career in aviation By Barb Zuehlke SUSAN DUSENBURY with her dog, Taylor. That's her 1953 Cessna 180 in the background. COURTESY OF SUSAN DUSENBURY DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO