We reached out to Nash Mesman, Airport Manager for the Baraboo-Dells Regional Airport and asked him some questions about his aviation journey and what lead him to a career as an aviation professional. Here is the interview…
What is your present career in aviation?
I’m the Manager for Spring City Aviation at the Baraboo-Dells Airport.
What inspired you to get into aviation?
As far as my career in aviation goes, it goes back to my Private Pilot’s License forty years ago. I got it partly for pleasure but mostly for work. What I was doing at the time was for the racing industry, and I flew back and forth to the Southeast sometimes a few times a week. I couldn’t make it work in a vehicle hauling parts, so I got my Private, then my High Performance, and you know, worked my way up through the aircrafts. I wound up logging quite a few hours in flight time. Once I left the racing industry, once I retired, I stepped away from aviation for a while. And then I met Brian Behrens who owns Spring City Aviation and he’s the one who approached me about getting back into aviation. So this was not a planned thing, it just happened and it’s worked out well for both Brian and myself to take this position.
What’s your greatest achievement in aviation?
Well, I would say this position. But as someone in general aviation, the flight hours. I flew a lot and I flew through some pretty gnarly stuff at times going over the mountains a couple times a week. This position here has certainly thrown me back into the world of aviation. You know, going from flying back and forth in a Cessna to all of these corporate aircraft that are based here and managing that side of it and managing the people here. I would say that’s the high point.
Do you have other goals you wish to achieve in aviation?
I guess none that really involve the flying aspect of it, but taking Spring City and Baraboo-Dells within the next half a dozen years or so, this place is going to transform into quite the corporate [airport]. Even though there will always be the piston and general aviation here, the expansion that we’re doing in the corporate area and improvements to the airport, being a part of that, is going to be the most exciting part of it for me. You know, having a hand in taking this place from what it is now to what it’s going to be in the next six, ten, or twelve years.
What can you tell young aviators that may help them with a career in aviation?
Keep your eye on the ball but realize that you’ll have to put in a lot of hours. Regardless if you go to a school and learn how to fly in a month, the bottom line is, you still need the flight hours. It’s a huge investment in your life to get to that point. Don’t get impatient to where you lose sight of it. If you have the idea that they’ll be able to fly 747s in a couple years, that’s not realistic. Everything you do should work toward your goal in the professional side of life.
What is your favorite part of your day?
Probably dealing with and meeting the people who come through. They come from such varied backgrounds and very different parts of the country. Hearing what’s going on wherever. It’s meeting people. It’s fun to meet all the other different people and see the different aircraft. It’s a little dangerous for me, because it probably wouldn’t take an awful lot of pushing to get me to dive back into owning a plane.
What is one thing that you would want to say to people looking into aviation as a possible career?
If you’re not enjoying it, if it gets to the point that you get frustrated, if you get impatient with yourself, my biggest advice is to just relax. If you do the right thing and focus on your goals, you’ll get there. You can’t help but get there. If it starts to not be fun anymore, it’s probably not the life for you. This is an extremely demanding business. It can be fun and if you’re doing what you want to do, flying or whatever side of aviation you’re in. But it is a very demanding and competitive business. Focus on being the best you can be and the best you can do, and you’ll get there.
