I was hired by Unison Industries not long after the company was acquired by Rick Sontag. We had 80 employees with an annual revenue of $14MM. I had been flying since age 14 and when I was hired by Unison at age 25 for a sales and marketing role, my flight experience and aircraft mechanic experience was a significant factor in Unison's selection criteria. I was not the only pilot, though. Rick Sontag, Brad Mottier, and others in our small organization were also pilots.
Some of my best memories with Unison are the flight testing I did for our piston engine ignition products, the many hours of flying with the Van Dusen and Aviall sales reps who covered their territories using airplanes, and the many opportunities to fly with customers and our OEM customers to support products Unison sold.
I still fly nearly every day, and every flight is with an aircraft that is equipped with Unison products. In retrospect, the nearly 8,000 hours I have logged over the past 48 years have been largely flown behind engines using Unison ignition systems products.
While I do not directly work for Unison any longer, this company has routinely been a customer to the later companies I have worked for. In fact, Unison is one of Carlisle Interconnect's largest and longest term customers. Some jobs are not just jobs, but life experiences. For me, Unison was and continues to be a great experience in my life and career....
Behind every great journey is a smooth flight. Today we celebrate International Pilot's day with a nod to some of Unison's very own pilots! Whether on the ground, or in the skies, our team members help advance the world of flight every day. #UnisonIndustries #InternationalPilotsDay
(Featuring: Scott Simpson Megan Shaffer Mario Marval III)
Test Equipment Engineer at Moog Aircraft
3w* Battery is On * Oxygen is On * Pressurization is Normal * Electrical is Normal * ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) is Normal * Nose- wheel steering is Normal * Landing gear handle Down * Alternate gear release is Stowed * Parking brake is Set * Flaps are indicating Up * Thrust levels are Cut Off * Speed-brake is retracted * Ice protection is Normal * Fuel Panel is Normal * Windshield heat is Normal * Pneumatic Panel is Normal * Avionics Initialization * Auxiliary fuel pump — Off * Flight controls — Free and correct * Instruments and radios — Checked and set * Landing gear position lights — Checked * Altimeter — Set * Directional gyro — Set * Fuel gauges — Checked * Trim — Set * Propeller — Exercise * Magnetos — Checked * Engine idle — checked * Flaps — As required * Parking brake — Off * Setup flight ✈️ plan * Passenger Briefing completed * Rudder Paddle adjusted * Seat belts/shoulder harnesses — Fastened * Now ready to start engine # 2 first * Starter Engaged * N2. Oil pressure * We have ignition and fuel flow * N1 (rotational speed of the low pressure gauze) turning, ITT (Interstage Turbine Temperature ) rising * Repeat the same step check Engine # 1 * And good start => ready to fly