Moore’s interest in aviation started with a flight when he was 13. His friend was a local aviation icon—then septuagenarian pilot and private collector, Mark Trimble, who owned 27 aircraft ranging from biplanes to helicopters. Moore bused tables and worked as a waiter during high school to be able to afford avgas and flight lessons. He learned to fly with an 88-year-old CFI in town and completed his PPL on his 18th birthday.
When he was working on his private pilot’s license, his instructor advised him to go to college and obtain a degree in something other than aviation “because a bachelor’s degree in aviation is only as good as your flight physical.” While everyone’s career path looks different, Moore found that piece of advice to be useful.
After high school, Moore enrolled in the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO where he studied business and marketing. During his junior year, he applied for an internship with Cessna Aviation Company, Textron Aviation Inc. By that afternoon he had an offer in his email. During the summer, he interned at the Textron service center in Wichita, KS. He also flew as a part of their company flying club. After a successful college internship with Textron, Moore was invited to apply for a full-time position. He ultimately returned to campus the fall of his senior year with a job offer.
Moore joined Textron Aviation as an after-market sales associate in June 2015. His job was to support the after-market sales manager who sold maintenance and warranty programs. After 10 months he was offered a sales manager position at the Houston Maintenance Shop. “I said, oh my god, I’m this small town kid from MO, and the biggest city I’ve ever been to is Wichita, KS,” said Moore. “I went down there and did the tour and the next thing I know I’m packing my bags and moving to Houston.”
From 2016 until 2019, he was the sales manager in Houston, while covering Texas and Louisiana. His job involved a lot of travel. Then in the spring of 2019, he became the Regional Sales Director for all Cessna and Beechcraft piston products in Texas and New Mexico. “I’ve been chasing around Skyhawks, Bonanzas and Barons ever since,” said Moore.
Do you use social media to build your personal or professional brand? Moore believes that social media allows him to create brand awareness and connect with potential customers in a more authentic way. He’s even generated a couple of leads directly from Instagram. The connection is often reciprocal. “I sold an airplane recently to a gentleman who is super active on social media,” said Moore. “Since the delivery of his airplane, he has posted a lot of pictures of his training and has tagged us in the photos – it’s super exciting.” Moore’s Instagram page is full of beauty shots of Beechcraft Bonanzas, cockpit closeups and handshakes with happy, smiling customers. As a Sales Director and licensed pilot, Moore also enjoys flying. A private pilot’s license isn’t a requirement for Regional Sales Directors, but it definitely helps. Moore also works with a team of dedicated Textron demo pilots who are tasked with delivering new planes to customers. The piston sales team also goes to the two major fly-ins – Oshkosh and Sun’N’Fun, each year. “Every one of our piston products is represented there,” said Moore. “Some of the sales directors fly an airplane in but not always.” Moore also goes to several local shows for a total of about ten static displays each year.
In his spare time, Moore also enjoys flying. He’s a private pilot with about 280 hrs. His background isn’t typical in that he didn’t grow up with any exposure to aviation. Instead, Moore grew up on a farm with 50 head of black angus cows and six horses along with chickens, dogs and cats. He competitively clogged for 10 years and barrel raced with his sister. “From the arena dirt to the runway!” Moore laughed. “I can already hear it.”
Business aviation needs diverse backgrounds and diverse people—previous exposure to aviation is not required. Being a first generation pilot, in Moore’s case, has led to some pretty exciting moments—for example, he gave his entire family their first plane ride. Even though he didn’t come from a business aviation background, he has worked hard to cultivate a career path that he truly enjoys. He has the following advice for business aviation young professionals:
“Your dream job might not be the first job that you get hired to do. Be willing to take the opportunities and roles that will allow you to gain the skills you need to get you to your dream job.”
When Moore was first hired by Textron, his dream job was to sell brand new Cessnas, however, it took him three different jobs to get to where he is now. “Don’t let the steps that it takes to get you to that [dream] job deter you from following your goals,” said Moore.
Now that he’s found his dream job, Moore’s short-term career goal is to become more well established in the DFW market. He also plans to eventually obtain his commercial rating with multi-engine add-on and become a demo qualified pilot with Textron. Lastly, he plans to continue his participation with aviation organizations like NGPA, the North Texas Business Aviation Association (NTBAA), the RFC flying club in Dallas and the Love Field Pilots Association (LFPA).
Moore is currently the chairperson for the Dallas Chapter of the National Gay Pilots Association which hosts two annual conferences. “We pride ourselves as being the largest LGBTQ aerospace professional organization in the world,” said Moore. NGPA hosts two annual conferences and its members include all types of aviation professionals from sales brokers to flight dispatchers to flight attendants, pilots and more.
Last year was his first time attending the NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. He went to help and support the NGPA booth. He is looking forward to attending future conventions and also connecting with other business aviation young professionals.
Last updated May 5, 2020
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.