While in the U.S. Navy from 2003-2013, Dave Campbell served as an aviation electronics technician in Strike Fighter squadrons VFA-146, VFA-122 and VFA147 and did multiple tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. During carrier operations in the Arabian Gulf, he earned three Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medals, three Good Conduct Medals, and two Letters of Commendation.
After a decade, Campbell left the Navy to pursue a career in general aviation. At AVEX, his initial focus was learning about the Daher TBM.
He found the approach to civilian aircraft maintenance is much different. “While a Navy pilot might not care what his plane looks like as long as it does its job, a civilian aircraft owner cares greatly about what the airplane looks like,” he says. That, he points out, means paying attention to the finer details like a scratch in the leather.
Once Campbell understood what was important to customers, his focus and role became customer care.
Since he began at AVEX, he’s earned a Bachelor of Science in project management. “Scheduling everything in and out – that’s not too difficult,” he says, “but when it comes to multiple planes in the hangar at once, keeping all those owners happy and getting aircraft out on time, and ensuring scheduling doesn’t cause resource issues, that was the biggest help where the degree came in.”
In 10 years at AVEX, Campbell has accomplished a lifetime of work, from being a specialized avionics tech to mastering the TBM airframe as a whole technically, to being recognized as nine-time FAA AMT award recipient to earning the title of “AVEX Technician of the Year” three times.
