Duncan Aviation has welcomed Codie Sharpe to the avionics sales team at its facility in Provo, Utah. Sharpe has been a long-time aviation enthusiast and joins the team after obtaining her Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) licences. During her career she has spent several years flying as a commercial pilot in both business and regional airline settings.

Sharpe brings to this position her knowledge as a pilot and user of the various avionics in the flight deck. Her experience as a pilot has taught her to rely on the systems and the many safety features of modern avionics. This hands-on experience on the flight deck will provide our customers with a pilot's perspective as they consider upgrades to their aircraft.

After taking an aviation technology class at Utah State University, Sharpe's interest in flying was piqued, which lead to her earning a Professional Pilot's Bachelor's degree. She says: "I was always interested in machines and seeing how they worked; however, until I took the class in college, a career as a pilot never crossed my mind."

Sharp learned to fly in a Diamond DA-40 equipped with a Garmin G1000 all-glass avionics suite. After becoming a pilot, she worked three jobs while attending school in order to achieve her dream.

"It was a nice machine, and as a school teaching students to fly, it was far safer to have an aircraft with all the bells and whistles," she continues. "I found it super helpful, and I liked knowing I wasn't going to get lost."

Sharpe eventually found herself learning the old-school gauges while teaching flight lessons in a Cessna 152 and Piper Arrow. As a pilot though, she prefers the more complex avionics systems and finds them critical to flight safety.

The most fun aircraft she's ever flown is a Pilatus, and she says: "I love the Pilatus here at Duncan Aviation. It's beautiful inside and out; the paint scheme is absolutely wild. The Pilatus aircraft I've flown were old and tired inside, so this one with its complete interior refurb is gorgeous. It's equipped with a Garmin G600TXi flight deck too, and I'm a huge fan of that system."

While she was still a student, Sharpe became familiar with the Duncan Aviation facilities because the school practised landings at Provo. After several years working as a commercial pilot, she decided she'd like to pursue a career in aviation that didn't have her flying and away from home for much of the month. With Duncan Aviation in mind, she started researching what kinds of careers were available and came across the position for avionics sales rep in Provo.