Thomas VanHow doing his "best work" as an Aviation Ambassador at WMU
When things don't go well, Thomas VanHowe is a testimony to the song lyrics "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again."
His job interview for being selected as a student ambassador for the Western Michigan University College of Aviation should have been taped to serve as a lesson on how not to do it. Today he is a first officer for Delta Air Lines and based out of its Detroit hub.
VanHowe served his ambassadorial duties from 2013 to 2015. The surprise is he was ever in that position in the first place. "I had a blast doing it (being an ambassador)," VanHowe recalls, admitting that the interviewing process "hilariously" went off the rails. "To make matters worse, I put the wrong telephone number on my resume. Luckily it was my grandmother's number and she was able to connect me. It was my first real interview, it was abysmal, and the lessons were learned."
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VanHowe, raised in Eminem's home territory of Macomb Township northwest of Detroit, learned those lessons rather well if his resume is any indication. Being an ambassador, he says, polished his "people skills" and connected him to a cadre of current and past College of Aviation students. An immediate benefit was landing an "amazing" flight-operations internship as a junior with MASCO Corp., a manufacturer of home-improvement and building products based in nearby Livonia and operating 38 facilities around the world. "I worked on numerous projects in the corporate-flight department and got a real look into Part 91 (FAA flight regulations relating to corporations)," he says.
VanHow passing his last checkride at WMU
After his WMU graduation with a degree in aviation flight science in 2015, VanHowe stayed in the air as a flight instructor at the Oakland County International Airport near Detroit, adding about 100 hours per month in the sky to his pilot records. He parlayed a Michigan Business Aviation Association scholarship into qualifying for a PIC (pilot in command) rating for all Citation 500 aircraft. That led him to part-time flying contracts, and convinced him he was headed for corporate aviation.
Not quite, and not yet. SkyWest Airlines based in St. George, Utah, beckoned. The largest regional airline on the continent in many capacities, SkyWest books 2,400 flights daily to destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Because First Officer VanHowe flew out of Detroit, he was part of the SkyWest recruitment team that visited the College of Aviation and other training institutions looking for new personnel.
In early 2019, the 2012 graduate of Dakota High in the Chippewa Valley School District was upgraded to the rank of captain in Skywest. After an interview later that year, he joined Delta in February of 2020 and began training on its fleet of A320s. Then something called Covid put the industry into a deep-freeze. While passengers quit flying, cargo did not. For six months, from November to May of 2021, VanHowe captained on-demand DC-9 flights for USA Jet Airlines, a cargo service located at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, all over the continent. He's been wearing the Delta uniform aboard A320s for the last 10 months.
Passing the Captain upgrade at SkyWest. The fake mustache was a "required" component of the training
No doubt Covid was a downer for the aviation industry, but it provided VanHowe with a golden opportunity. "I was lucky enough (and equipped with the right ratings) to land that USA Jet Airlines job of flying a DC-9," he says. "I got to fly an airplane I never thought I would in my career. I learned a ton. The DC-9 is an amazing machine. Because of the pandemic I got the opportunity to see a side of aviation I had never seen before. I can now say I've flown corporate aircraft, airliners and cargo."
His SkyWest days brought special memories and "the most fun I ever had flying." For more than 300 flights over six consecutive months, Captain VanHowe's first officer was his fiancee. The future Brooke (Patterson) VanHowe (if she chooses that name at their June wedding) also now flies an A320 for United Air Lines out of the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. "Now that we work at different airlines," he says, "I'm pretty bummed we won't get to do that again." At least, not in the immediate future.
VanHow and George Maciak on a hike in Salt Lake City
There's more in VanHowe's Skywest scrapbook. His roommate for the airline's new-hire training in Salt lake City was the guy he shared living quarters with back at Western -- George Maciak. "We were simulation partners at SkyWest and had an absolute blast." By the way, also in that pilot training class was a female candidate with the first name of Brooke.
"Growing up," he says, "I always wanted to become a pilot, but I wasn't quite certain how to achieve that dream. Online research introduced me to some good flight-school programs at universities. It turned out that Western's was right down the road. After my family toured the campus and saw the College of Aviation, I never applied to another school."
Classes in advanced aircraft systems and instrument ground school provided insights and perspectives that proved relevant as he advanced in his career. Professor Lori Brown, trained in Australia, involved in the industry since 1988, and boasting of a resume that would make Amelia Earhart jealous, "was downright the most helpful instructor I've ever had," VanHowe says. "She is truly passionate about aviation and really cares about the success and understanding of each of her students."
VanHowe and fellow SkyWest pilot (and fiancée), Brooke prior to her heading to captain training
Some kudos are also aimed at Jay Orwin, a WMU alumnus who formerly served as the director of aviation at MASCO. "As an intern there and even up to this day, he has spent so much time teaching, helping and guiding me through school and the next steps to reach my goals. I hope I can be half as helpful to those interested in aviation as he has been to me."
A subliminal message passed on by the College of Aviation throughout his four years at Western was effective time management. "I was working different jobs, flying and taking classes all at the same time," he says. "I learned quickly how to manage my time well to be able to get everything done."
That's part of the "give-back" advice he passes on to current aviation students during his recruitment pitches and when taking part in the college's Aviation Outlook Day. "Like so many others," VanHowe says, " I would not be where I am today without the guidance of people who have 'been there, done that.' I am open to answering their questions about which path to choose. I want to pass on what I've done well and what I wish I had done differently. What a person didn't do is just as important and what one does."
Engaging in some aviation outreach, VanHowe continues to give back and introduce students to the wonder of aviation
Polishing his resume were memberships in Western's chapters of Alpha Eta Rho, the career-promoting coed fraternity that links the aviation industry and institutions of higher education, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. "Both have given me life-long mentors and friends in the aviation community and elsewhere," he says. "Those connections are priceless."
While still in his bachelor days, VanHowe enjoys running, hiking, golfing and "petting other people's dogs." The best part of his job, he says, "is traveling and the opportunity to see and explore places." Time off from the job also enhances the opportunity to travel to destinations not part of his flight plans. And also to run, hike, golf and be friendly to other people's pets.
VanHowe says he became interested in aviation when he was about 4. "I flew on a Northwest Airlines B757 from Detroit to Orlando, Fla. The captain took me up front to show me the cockpit and he gave me a set of wings. I thought that was the coolest thing. From that day forward, I knew I wanted to be an airline pilot. I started telling people -- 'When I grow up, I want to be a Northwest Airlines pilot.'"
Goal achieved -- somewhat. Northwest, operational since 1926, merged with Delta in 2008.