Robinson Aviation (RVA)
Oklahoma City company that operates 102 airport control towers under the FAA Contract Tower Program, plus ramp towers and ATC equipment maintenance.
Overview
Robinson Aviation (RVA) was founded in 1986 and has provided air traffic control services since 1994. It says it operates 102 towers in Areas II and IV of the FAA Contract Tower Program, across the South, the Southwest, and the Caribbean, and employs more than 600 people. It also runs the Leesburg Executive Airport tower in Virginia under a separate FAA contract, two non-federal towers, and ramp (apron) control towers at JFK, Fort Lauderdale, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, and it maintains ATC communications equipment at 14 airports. Its controller jobs are for people who already hold a Control Tower Operator (CTO) certificate, so it is a second-step employer rather than a first job out of school.
Student Insights
What RVA requires of controllers
For FAA contract tower positions RVA requires a CTO certificate with a facility rating, or a past FAA credential with a tower rating, plus a current Class II medical. The facility rating itself is what 14 CFR 65.39 governs: six months working that tower without a rating, or six months holding a facility rating at a different tower. Some of its non-federal towers ask for two years with a facility rating, and tower manager jobs require two years as a tower supervisor or five years of ATC experience. The usual sources of that experience are military ATC service or an FAA career.
Apron control and technician jobs
RVA also hires apron controllers, who direct aircraft on airport ramp areas outside FAA-controlled movement areas, and traveling ATC communications technicians. Its technician posting asks for six years of electronics experience and an FCC license, so that is also an experienced-hire role.
AI Outlook
Contract tower and ramp tower work is conventional tower control. The company publishes no AI programs.
Student Hiring
Typical Roles
Notable Programs
- FAA Contract Tower Program (Areas II and IV)
- Ramp tower operations at JFK, Fort Lauderdale, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
Career Connections
AeroEd career pathways relevant to Robinson Aviation (RVA).