Page 4 - Volume 12 Number 12

Long-time pilot returns to aviation, takes up causes
by Kim Blonigen
Mike Schroeder doesn’t take for granted the and got a job immediately with Texas Instruments (TI)
things in his life he’s been able to enjoy due to
his success as a self-made businessman. When referring to his 1982 King Air B100, he said, “It’s an asset that isn’t easily available to everyone, so if I can offer it to make a difference in the world or help someone out, I’m happy to do it.”
Schroeder is semiretired in Sedona, Arizona, and found his way back to the left seat after a decade-long absence. While flying 2,850 hours during his career, which helped grow his business, now his flight hours are devoted to recreation, attending board meetings in Denver and helping nonprofits.
Finding His Own Way
Schroeder wasn’t a fan of school so he knew attending college wasn’t for him. After graduating from high school, he attended an electronics trade school. About the same time, he registered for the draft wanting to fly helicopters. He completed his electronics training in 1968 (he said much that he learned is now very obsolete!)
2 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
at the company’s environmental testing facilities in Richardson, Texas. Schroeder said he didn’t get drafted because of the projects he was working on at TI, which included a pioneering terrain-following radar to map the ground directly in front of the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, a high-tech night bomber first used in Vietnam and the IRIS Project for Mars atmosphere exploration.
Although he enjoyed the work he was doing at TI, he left to find higher pay in various sales positions and direct marketing. He eventually ended up working in electronics again, in retail and wholesale distribution. He explains, “In 1979-1980 when big satellite dishes were introduced, I started Consumer Satellite Systems (CSS).” The business, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, grew into branch sales offices, dealers and warehouses in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Florida and Tennessee. By 1998, the company had grown to 10 distribution facilities all located east of the Mississippi River, serving the estimated 2.2 million households of the satellite dish market. “As technology
DECEMBER 2018
Flying for Good