The “World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” is finally here! It’s a very busy week for the team where we need all the help we can get. One of our favorite parts of AirVenture is sharing the experience with an individual aspiring to have a career in aviation!
Meet 21 year old Frank Frassetto, last year’s Team Chambliss Intern!
Q: How did you become interested in aviation?
FF: Living in Oshkosh surrounds you with a ton of aviation activities. Being the home of AirVenture, I would see all the airplanes coming in each year. Going out there with my family and walking around the venue really sparked my interest. I also had a grandfather that was a pilot who flew bombers in WWII. Both of these combined made me want to be a pilot.
Q: When did you begin flying?
FF: I started flying the last part of my senior year in high school and received my pilot’s license four months before going off to college.
Q: Did you go to school for aviation?
FF: I did. I went to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where I majored in flight operations and minored in aviation management. While I was there, I got my instrument rating, my commercial license, and my high performance and complex endorsements.
Q: How did you meet Kirby and the team?
FF: My family used to rent our house out to the vendor, Tempest, during AirVenture, and they became good friends of ours. One year I asked if I could go to their annual pilot’s dinner because I was very interested in aviation. They said yes, and that’s where I met Kirby.
Q: What were some of your responsibilities as an intern for Team Chambliss?
FF: I did a lot of things as an intern! The biggest job was keeping the airplane clean after Kirby would come back from practice flights, photo shoots, and performances. I’d grab a clean rag and a spray bottle and make sure the airplane looked as good as it could. I helped in making sure that Kirby stayed on schedule, like making sure that he got to the right booths for autograph signings. I also tagged along with Kayla, the team coordinator, and helped her deliver items to sponsors, put up signs, and make sure everything ran as smoothly as possible.
Q: What is your favorite memory of being an intern?
FF: My favorite memory from being an intern was when I got to ride along on one of Kirby’s photo flights. I was sitting right seat of the photo plane, and Kirby would fly right next to us and do small aerobatic maneuvers. It was really neat to have that up close view!
Q: Do you have any funny stories from your time with the team?
FF: Yes! The first year I interned for the team I didn’t have a car to drive for the summer, so I drove my brother’s moped. When he bought it, he put a bunch of Monster stickers on it. Well… Kirby isn’t sponsored by Monster, he’s sponsored by Red Bull of course! When I was out on the photo flight, Jason and another team member plastered Red Bull Team Chambliss stickers over the Monster stickers. It was so funny walking out and seeing that. They’re still on there to this day!
Q: What are you working on now?
FF: Flying wise, I am working on my multi and CFI ratings. For work, I am interning at Sonex Aircraft. They offered me an internship the summer of my senior year and I’ve continued to come back. This will be my third year as a Research and Development Assistant where we build our quick builds. I help assemble the sheet metal parts that get sent out to customers.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
FF: I’m working on building my time so I can eventually fly a corporate job or for an airline company, but my “dream job” is flying aerobatics. I want to transition into that within the next year by getting an airplane, starting to compete in aerobatic competitions, and hopefully getting into the airshow circuit!
