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Many a Bronco aviator, with 51������ diploma still fresh in hand, takes the career path to based at near Detroit. 

Two of the latest to trade in their Brown and Gold for Apogee colors are Austin Harper and Pascal Paffhausen. 

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Harper was born and raised in the Lake Michigan shoreline community of Holland.  Paffhausen, his Apogee compatriot, can also claim to be raised near a Holland — The Netherlands one — because his home country is Germany. 

Apogee, an aircraft-management company and certified training center located near Pontiac, is a convenient landing spot for Western grads because the co-owners — — both have a Bronco connection. As you may expect, chemistry doesn’t just happen in the lab at 51������, many times it happens in other areas of the University. While Josh is a 2002 alumnus with a degree in business administration and management who pitched for the , Valerie prepped at the University for her current duties as Apogee’s chief financial officer, honing her abilities in the College of Education and earning her 51������ parchment in 2004.  Initially meeting through one of Josh’s teammates, they reconnected after graduating and knew instantly they were going to get married.  Not only is a great mascot, he’s also a pretty good Cupid!  

Featured in a , the Clarks tell a story about a young couple who face one of life’s challenging decisions — do you invest in a family home or gamble all your resources on an entrepreneurial hunch.  The hunch evolved into Apogee, which today offers flight training, aircraft management, and pilot services for customers throughout metro Detroit. 

It’s the flight-training function that brought Harper and Paffhausen to the Clarks’ payroll.  Both were on the 51������ College of Aviation payroll during their Bronco days.   

Harper, a member of the 2016 graduating class at , first became aware of the world of aviation watching the precision flying of the at an air show in Muskegon.  It became a career choice as a junior when research showed him that one of the best aviation schools in the world existed only an hour’s drive away. 

“I toured the Kalamazoo campus and the college’s operational base in Battle Creek,” Harper says, “and was very impressed, especially with the Cirrus fleet.  I started in the fall of 2016 with nothing but an introductory flight under my belt.”  He was soon in the air a lot and on his way to a degree in aviation flight science. 

After moving from Bonn, Germany in 2015, Paffhausen graduated from the  in 2018, which is located on the east side of Michigan in the Detroit Metro area.  “I knew that I never wanted to work a desk job,” he says.  “I was torn between becoming a paramedic or a pilot.”  The latter — and the 51������ College of Aviation — became his choice when he “was hooked by a discovery flight” while in high school.  His degree in aviation flight science came less than four years later in December of 2021, a month before he turned 21, which also meant that he was limited as to what he could pilot.   In some aspects, there is a need to be 23 to qualify for certain ratings. 

Harper admits that flight training and college were “a major undertaking and took diligence and dedication to balance my time,” he says.  Helping that was living in Henry Hall, the dorm for aviation majors.  “Sharing a common interest forged friendships that exist to this day.”  What he had to remember was that some were farther along in their pilot training.  “I had to consistently remind myself that everyone is running their own race.  Comparing myself to others was only detrimental to my flying.”  At his own pace, he reached CFII status. 

But before he started flight instructing 51������ in the summer of 2019, Harper served as a student ambassador for the College of Aviation.  “From answering phone calls to giving tours to prospective students,” he says, “being an ambassador was an exceptionally busy and fun job.  I learned how to communicate more effectively, which helped me as a flight instructor.  What was very rewarding was seeing the people I gave tours to start their flight training and reach their goals.”  

Harper said instructing “didn’t come naturally to me at first and it took a while to build my confidence.  But I figured out how to help students.  There are few things cooler than seeing them successfully pass a check ride.  That is always very rewarding.”  He experienced the hidden bonus of teaching — the teacher always learns as much as the student. 

“I definitely had my share of nerve-racking situations,” he says, “but through those experiences my confidence as a pilot grew.” 

Paffhausen worked the college’s aviation line services department during his Western years, eventually being promoted to a supervisory role.  “Because of my co-workers,” he says, “I learned skills that I still value and use to this day, such as how to conduct interviews for new hires.”  All of this he finds valuable as Apogee’s lead certified instructor — one of his duties is being in charge of hiring and thus conducting interviews. 

Harper logged three years of flight instruction 51������, a period that also saw the college deal with the Covid pandemic.  Thinking initially that he wanted to cast his lot with an airline, he began to have second thoughts about that.  “After careful consideration and conversations with loved ones.” he says, “I decided on a different course.  I wanted to continue instructing, but I also wanted the opportunity to grow and fly faster airplanes.”  

Enter Apogee Air and what he could learn from , who has flown top-level Gulfstreams to more than 100 countries and completed piloting assignments that came from the U.S. presidency.  Harper started with the aircraft-management company and Cirrus training partner in March of 2023.  His trips and month-long training courses have taken him to North Dakota, Florida and New York, just to name a few of the destinations. 

“Now I know that all of this is not exclusive to Apogee,” he says, “but being able to do it in brand new airplanes with awesome clients is special.  I think flying every day with a friend is a severely underrated perk that is often overlooked in aviation.  Also being able to sleep in my own bed 99 percent of the time is great.  Apogee’s sense of community is also something I value highly.  I’m always excited to go to work.  What I loved about Western was being able to work with friends.  The same goes for Apogee." 

Paffhausen shares those warm feelings for Western and the College of Aviation.  “The whole journey is my favorite part — flying above the Hudson River between New York skyscrapers, flying over the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, the endless sunsets.  The weather is always sunny and beautiful above the clouds, even if it’s dark and rainy down below.  Who gets to fly a plane as part of college?  It’s the coolest classroom in the world.” 

His flight instructors at 51������ — Joe White and Suat Tastekin — brought challenges and fun to their duties, traits that Paffhausen brings to the students who come under his wing at Apogee.  Also, what he learned from Aleks Copeland — the college’s “boss lineman” — are life-long lessons in how to do the job and manage people well. 

Each and every day he gets closer to one of his long-term goals of becoming a DPE (designated pilot examiner) while also moving up the Cirrus training ladder. Sometime within this year, Paffhausen is setting his sights on instructing others to obtain their Cirrus Vision Jet type rating at the Cirrus Vision Center in Knoxville,TN. “I have big aspirations,” Paffhausen says, “but I also want to make sure that I don’t overwork myself in the long term.  I want to still have family time.” 

As of now, Paffhausen is well satisfied with his position at Apogee, which came into being through the company’s lead pilot who had helped the German-born Western grad earn his wings.  “I get to meet and pilot some awesome people,” he says.  “CEOs of major companies, music stars, coaches of major sports teams and astronauts.  On top of that is exploring the cool places where I overnight at.” 

Another satisfaction he shares with Harper “is seeing the smiles on the faces of people the first time that they take the controls in the cockpit of a small airplane.  The look of disbelief when they realize that it doesn’t take much to steer an aircraft is incredible.” 

Because Apogee has more than its share of Western alumni, it takes part in many of the college’s recruiting events.  Harper and Paffhausen are prime candidates for those duties.  Says Paffhausen: “We don’t strive for customer satisfaction.  We strive for excellence and professionalism in all that Apogee does.” 

“I’ve been incredibly blessed with a job that is fulfilling and enjoyable,” Harper says.  “At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what airplane you fly.  There are so many possibilities in aviation that can sometimes be overlooked.  So, try to keep as many doors open as possible.  Do what you love and don’t worry about what other people think."