Presented by GSS Aviation & Northstar Strategies
Vector Connect
Airline and industry professionals, on your ramp, answering the questions nobody explained when you started training.
- Location
- Van Nuys, CaliforniaVan Nuys Airport (KVNY)
- Date
- Saturday, October 17, 2026
- Time
- 4:00 – 7:00 PM PT
What this evening actually is
- 01
What this is
A roughly three-hour evening at a multi-school independent FBO: short back-to-back presentations from airline and aviation-industry professionals, an open Q&A floor with no scripted questions, and unhurried networking with food trucks on site. Come in a polo, come off a lesson — either is fine.
- 02
Who should attend
Student pilots at any certificate level, instrument and commercial students, CFIs building time toward airline minimums, career-changers weighing the cost and timeline, and the flight school owners and managers who train them.
- 03
What you'll gain
A straight picture of the path: what each certificate is actually for, where the money and the years go, which decisions are hard to undo, and direct answers from people currently doing the job you are training for.
What you get out of it
No sales pitch, no résumé drop. This is the part of the career nobody sits down and explains.
- 01
Industry Insight
Airline and aviation-industry professionals explaining how the pipeline actually works, in plain language.
- 02
The Career Map
Private, instrument, commercial, CFI, first officer — what each step buys you and where the decision points sit.
- 03
Professional Expectations
What the industry expects of you long before an application: currency, judgment, records and reputation.
- 04
Mentorship
Ask the people already flying the job the questions a syllabus never answers.
- 05
Networking
Unhurried time with the presenters and with students and instructors from the other schools on the field.
Why airline professionals come to your flight school
Student pilots are handed a checkride syllabus and left to reverse-engineer a career. We would rather put working airline and industry people in front of you now — while the decisions about ratings, hours and financing are still ahead of you instead of behind you.
Workforce commitment
Vector Connect is an education series and a community investment, produced end to end by GSS Aviation and Northstar Strategies. No resumes are collected and nobody is being recruited. Partner airlines take part precisely because this audience is not hire-ready yet.
Career pathways
Private to instrument to commercial to CFI to first officer — with the parts that get glossed over: ATP minimums and the R-ATP pathways that reduce them, what the hour-building years actually look like, financing advanced ratings, and how regional and mainline timelines differ.
How the evening runs
Roughly three hours: short presentations back to back, an open Q&A floor, then networking. Nothing runs in parallel — you will not miss anything.
4:00 PM
Doors open, food trucks on the ramp
OpenSign in, grab food, meet people from the other schools on the field.
4:30 PM
Anchor airline partner opens the evening
PresentationWhere the airline sits in the industry, how its pipeline actually works, and what it looks for in the pilots who eventually reach it.
5:00 PM
The certificate ladder, end to end
PresentationPrivate, instrument, commercial, CFI and first officer — what each one buys you, what it costs, and the R-ATP pathways that change your minimums.
5:30 PM
The hour-building years
PresentationInstructing, part-time flying and the realistic timeline from 250 hours to airline minimums, from people who have done it.
6:00 PM
Paying for it
PresentationFinancing advanced ratings, sequencing training around a job, and the decisions that are expensive to reverse.
6:20 PM
Open Q&A floor
Q&ANo submitted questions, no moderator screening. Ask the panel anything about the path.
6:45 PM
Networking until close
OpenStay as long as you want. The presenters do not leave first.
Who you'll hear from
Marcus Ellery
VP, Flight Operations, GoJet Airlines
Opening keynote: The next decade of aviation hiring
Twenty-two years in regional aviation, from first officer to running a 1,400-person flight operations group.
Anchor airline partner
Line pilot and pilot recruitment leadership, To be announced
How the pipeline really works
The exclusive airline partner opens every stop on the tour. Speaker announced closer to the event.
Regional first officer
First Officer, Regional carrier
From 250 hours to the right seat
Recently through the same path this audience is on: CFI hour-building, R-ATP, and the first year on the line.
Danielle Reyes
Director of Technical Training, GoJet Airlines
Panel: Getting licensed
Built the apprenticeship program that has certified more than 300 aircraft maintenance technicians.
Priya Raghunathan
Dean of Workforce Programs, Valencia College
Panel: Getting licensed
Leads aviation and advanced manufacturing pathways for one of the largest workforce colleges in Florida.
Career CFI and chief instructor
Chief Flight Instructor, Independent Part 61 school
The certificate ladder, end to end
Two decades training pilots at multi-school fields, and candid about where students lose time and money.
Terrence Ward
Veteran Transition Lead, Central Florida Workforce Board
Workshop: Translating military experience
Helps service members translate military experience into licensed civilian aviation roles.
Aviation finance specialist
Training finance advisor, Industry partner
Paying for it
Walks through the real cost of advanced ratings and how people fund them while working.
Time set aside to meet people
Food trucks, no name badges, no pitch. The presenters stay until the field clears out.
4:00 – 4:30 PM
Ramp arrival
Open floor
Food trucks, no agenda. Most people show up straight from a lesson.
6:20 – 6:45 PM
Open Q&A floor
Ask anything
The whole point of the evening: unfiltered answers from working professionals.
6:45 PM – close
After the last talk
One on one
Small-group conversations with presenters and with instructors from the other schools on the field.
Who makes this stop possible
Each city is built with a different set of local partners.
Featured partner
Presenting Sponsor
- Northstar Strategies LLCCo-producer of the Vector Connect tour: production, promotion and reporting.
Event Sponsors
- Anchor airline partnerExclusive airline position for the tour. Opens every stop. Announcement pending.
- Event sponsor slotOne to two sponsors per stop only — aviation financing, headsets and avionics, flight training technology, or aviation insurance. Partnership kit available on request.
Community Partners
- Host flight schoolsThe independent schools operating on the field, who open the evening to their students.
Van Nuys Airport (KVNY)
Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, CA
Parking
Free parking on the FBO lot. Overflow parking is signed on the day; arrive by 4:15 PM if you want a close spot.
Getting there
Enter through the FBO lobby, not the school gates. Staff will point you to the ramp area — the program is held on the ramp side under cover.
Accessibility
Ground-level and step-free from the lot to the ramp. Accessible restrooms in the FBO. Seating is provided; let us know at the door if you need a reserved seat near the front.
Where to stay
No lodging needed for a three-hour local evening. If you are flying in, the usual Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks hotels are within ten minutes of the field.
One tour, hub by hub
Vector Connect travels to high-density independent flight training hubs across the country. Same format, new ramp, new local schools at every stop.