Emersen Cislo has a hand in saving lives in his work with Life Flight Network. He is on call 24 hours a day for seven days on, seven off, serving three aircraft that are utilized for patients who are in dire need of medical intervention.
And while some may not enjoy being on call 24 hours a day, Cislo said it’s just what he likes.
“I don’t mind it, it kind of keeps you on your toes. You can’t really get complacent with the job because usually when I do get called in, it’s AOG issues, it’s troubleshooting, inspecting damage and performing the repairs. So it’s always different. Outside of our regular scheduled inspections, a lot of the repair work we do is troubleshooting and figuring problems out. And that’s one of the aspects I really enjoy is problem solving, figuring out what went wrong and how to fix it,” he said.
Growing up, Cislo’s dad was a journeyman electrician for many years before one day deciding to be a helicopter pilot, leading Cislo’s life down the aviation path.
“My dad was actually teaching me how to fly before I could even reach the pedals. And so I spent a lot of time around aircraft and at the airport and in the corporate FBOs, going to air shows with him. And so it was a big part of my life that I got to enjoy with my dad,” he said.
Cislo originally wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a helicopter pilot, but financially couldn’t make flight school work. Thus, he figured working on helicopters was the next best thing.
“I love tinkering with things. So maybe I’ll work on them and that was kind of how things went,” he said.
Having grown up in the industry, Cislo cites the aviation community as one of his favorite things about it all.
“I like that you can go to any airport anywhere and strike up a conversation with somebody because you have that common ground of aviation, whether it’s a pilot or a line service tech or another mechanic. Everybody, I feel like, is in the industry because we all have a passion for it. I haven’t met very many mechanics who go into it for the money, but everybody seems to really enjoy the aviation field,” he said.
