In 2022, only 7.04% of aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the United States were Hispanic, according to Data USA.
Although underrepresented nationally in the field, many Latinos earn a living as mechanics, pilots, technicians and managers in the San Fernando Valley at the Van Nuys Airport.
It is one of the largest general aviation airports in the country, contributing more than $2 billion each year to the Southern California economy and supporting over 10,000 jobs.
The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol spoke with a few Latinos from the Van Nuys Airport workforce, to learn about their journey into the world of aviation.
Christian Moreno
Christian Moreno is the chief of airport operations at Van Nuys Airport and has decades of management and supervision experience in the aviation industry. Born in Chile, his fascination with aviation started at an early age.
“When I was moving around between Chile, Colombia and Spain, getting with my whole family onto an aircraft … was amazing,” Moreno recalled. “I just looked out the window the entire trip. I was amazed.”
His passion started to take shape after he immigrated to the United States and began living in Los Angeles. After taking a flight course in high school, Moreno knew he would do whatever it took to work in aviation.
However, Moreno would face barriers when it came to flying. He tried to join the Air Force after graduating high school, but as a non-U.S. citizen, he wouldn’t be allowed to be a pilot.
He then tried to be a commercial pilot, but the required number of hours and funds needed to get a license proved to be too much. Still determined to work in aviation, he became a flight dispatcher, where he became more interested in the management side of airports.
Moreno worked as a flight dispatcher for 16 years, during which he was the manager of flight operations at LAX, and then became the superintendent of airport operations at LA World Airports in 2004.
“I did that for a couple of years, doing inspections on the airfield and around airplanes,” Moreno said. “I loved every second of it. That was the place [where] I wanted to be.”
Still feeling that he wanted to do more, however, Moreno worked as the supervisor of operations at the Port of Portland for three years before coming back to LAX as the terminal manager at the Tom Bradley International Terminal – managing 52 different airlines.
It was through this role that he learned about the chief of airline operations position at Van Nuys Airport. He took the position and has been at the airport since 2016.
“Even though Van Nuys Airport is smaller than LAX, business here is incredible,” Moreno said. “There’s over 200 businesses within the airport, and also more than 19 schools [that come] here. My role is … making sure everybody plays within the same rules … to managing the movement of aircraft.
“I deal directly with the Los Angeles Fire Department and airport police,” Moreno continued. “I’m the subject matter expert on construction here and work directly with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] tower ensuring that everything we do here is safe and sufficient.”
To those interested in entering the industry, Moreno highly suggests joining an internship or applying for a part-time job at the airport as a community administrative support worker. The airport also has career days, where high school students can learn there are more options than just being a pilot.
“Be that volunteer that raises their hand when they’re looking for somebody,” Moreno said. “That’s what I tell every young person that walks through here.”
Christopher Ruvalcaba
Operating out of the Van Nuys Airport, Christopher Ruvalcaba maintains 12 helicopters as an avionics technician for Helinet Aviation.
Ruvalcaba was born in Whittier, California, but spent the early years of his life in Guadalajara, Mexico. He moved back to LA when he was around 11 years oldwith his single mother in search of better opportunities.
His interest in aviation began when he was young, as a couple of family members were pilots; his father was in the Mexican Air Force. However, Ruvalcaba didn’t necessarily gravitate towards flying. Rather, he was more interested in hands-on hobbies, starting with building Legos as a kid.
“By the time I started getting older, I saw how maybe I could use some of those skills and [utilize] them in aviation and find a career,” Ruvalcaba said. “I think I ended up combining the two, where … I like to work with my hands and airplanes are awesome, so how can I get a job that lets you do both?”
After graduating high school, Ruvalcaba pursued his interests when he joined the U.S. Navy, becoming an aviation electrician’s mate, working on MH-60S Seahawk Helicopters. He spent four years in the Navy, earning multiple accolades and roles during his service, including plane captain and quality assurance inspector.
Working with helicopters, Ruvalcaba said, was where “I found my true passion. I really like what I do. I’m really good at what I do. … Piloting did not sound interesting to me at all, but I do like machines. I like keeping them up and working.”
After leaving the Navy, Ruvalcaba went on to work as an integration technician for SpaceX on the Dragon 2 Capsule but left after finding the experience not very exciting.
He then joined Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. in Long Beach as an avionics technician, which Ruvalcaba enjoyed much more. He was familiar with their procedures and many of his coworkers were also veterans. Unfortunately, Gulfstream shuttered the facility in 2020.
Ruvalcaba then came to Van Nuys Airport when he joined Western Jet and eventually Helinet Aviation in 2022. He enjoys working on helicopters much more than airplanes because, as he explained, those jobs are much more mission-oriented, which appeals to his military background. Working on planes, in contrast, feels more like meeting a deadline.
“Here at Helinet, we do Children’s Hospital services, ABC7 News and [deliver] organ transplants from our helicopters, so there’s always a mission,” Ruvalcaba said. “People that work in the helicopter industry, pilots and mechanics, we all have that kind of similarity where we like a mission-oriented career rather than a well-paying job.”
Beyond the good pay and benefits, the job is very rewarding, Ruvalcaba said. “While it can be stressful at times, seeing something you fixed take flight once more can be its own reward, not to mention the opportunity to travel across the world.
“Overall, it’s a good career for somebody to start venturing themself into,” he said. “I would 100% recommend it to any young people out there who have some sort of mechanical aptitude.”
Semantha Raquel Norris contributed to this article.