NBAA's New CAM Examination: Don't Expect a Walk in
the Park
"This is not meant to blow them out. It's meant to round
them out." That's the word from Home Depot flight services
director Bill McBride on a new Certified Aviation Manager program
being established by NBAA.
The first CAM examination, which McBride helped prepare (he chairs
the NBAA Maintenance Committee), was administered to about 40
candidates at the Peabody Hotel here Monday with an eye toward
granting the first certifications late this year.
"The CAM credential," NBAA says, "will become the
standard prerequisite for future business aviation management
positions, and as a member of this distinguished group, you will
help shape the future of our industry."
The 175-question exam, McBride cautions, "is no walk in the
park." Just being able to take the test requires business
aviation-relevant education, work experience, "and industry
involvement," NBAA says (as well as $925).
The test is designed to gauge "not how you can run your own
flight department, McBride says, but "how you can run any
flight department."
The new credential "is meant to level the playing field,
opening doors that are otherwise shut," he says. "The
concept is sound. It is the wave of the future."
Besides professional development courses, said to be the best
preparation for the CAM exam, NBAA offers a CAM Study Guide on CD-ROM
for $100. For more information check out www.nbaa.org.cam
