By following a passion for aviation, Ken Harwood found himself in a compelling career with SKYTRAC. Since 2011, Ken has been with SKYTRAC assisting companies around the world looking to improve flight operations with SKYTRAC’s SkyWeb platform. According to Ken, aviation is fueled with dedicated people who enjoy moving the industry forward. He revels in the energy, which requires to be at work early in the mornings at 5 am.
“People in the aerospace industry are passionate about what they do – they enjoy talking and sharing their experiences,” says Ken. “I enjoy listening to different stories and meeting people from around the world. In addition, aviation brings different cultures together.”
Ken says a strong appreciation and admiration for avionics keeps him eager to explore the diverse industry’s far reaches.
“I have always loved things that fly – fixed wing, rotary, UAV, you name it. Working at SKYTRAC was the perfect opportunity for me.”
Ken is a key point of contact for operators looking to develop and incorporate SkyWeb into their flight operations. Over the last decade, he’s provided support to clients around the world. While supporting SKYTRAC’s worldwide user base, Harwood says he has many fond moments working with the SKYTRAC team.
What has been your most memorable moment while working at SKYTRAC?
Onsite client training has allowed me to travel and see the different operations from all over the world.
In 2017 Malachi, my boss at the time, traveled together to visit a client in Kiev, Ukraine. We were greeted by one of the executive assistants and the company’s driver. On the way to the hotel, the first thing we noticed is how fast we were going. It was a definite ‘put your seatbelt on and hang tight’ moment until we were stopped by the local police going down a small street in the wrong direction.
As we sat quietly in the back of the car, the driver got out of the vehicle and had some words with the officers. After a few long moments and he got back in, and we continued on to the hotel to the hotel. I admit it was a little nerve-racking to be stopped in a foreign country late at night and not knowing the language. To add to the nerves… was also my first time to teach a SkyWeb course to clients in front of my boss. I was more worried about Malachi than the group of non-English speaking clients at the time.
After three days of visiting Kyiv’s historic city and spending time with friendly people, it became one of the best trips I have done. From trying new food dishes at authentic Ukrainian restaurants to the client’s hospitality and professionalism – it’s a trip I will never forget.
Malachi also offered me some friendly advice regarding teaching that I use to this day when teaching clients how to benefit from the robust SkyWeb platform.
What’s your family life like? How was WFH impacted your day-today?
Working from home is nothing new for the client service team. With the proper home office set-up and no distractions, it can be even more productive than being in the office.
What do you like most about working at SKYTRAC?
I enjoy working together with leadership, different departments, learning, and being able to see operators around the world. Everyday brings different challenges and no two days are the same.
If you had to choose a fixed-wing or rotor-wing aircraft, which one would you choose?
The ultimate fixed-wing aircraft would be a TBM-940. It’s fast, easy to fly, and has room for six people in style. Having flown in many fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, the TBM has always been my favorite.
What do you like to do outside of work?
On the weekends, I like to travel and explore new places. We live in a great area of Canada and its wonderful to explore places, even if its close to home. In the summer you can usually find me on the lake doing some wake surfing and when the snow falls, I’m in the mountains laying down some fresh tracks!
