Michael Melum’s Aviation-Related Career History

Michael Melum’s career has been deeply rooted in aviation technology, communications, and air traffic control systems, with a long tenure at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and later in Alaska.

Early Education and Military Service
Melum graduated from Redfield High School in 1968 and later earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) in 1974.  He served in the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Knox, gaining early technical experience with wheel vehicle and track vehicle maintenance, i.e. armored personnel carriers and tanks.

FAA Career (1974–2007)

• 1974–1975: Worked for the FAA in Indianapolis, then in Michigan, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Illinois.  
• 1976: Transferred to the Minneapolis Airway Facilities Sector as Staff Engineer. 
• 1982: Special detail to FAA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to the Spectrum Engineering Division. 
• 1983–1985: Worked as an ASR-9 Radar Program Engineer in D.C. 
• 1986–1991: Served as Radio Control Equipment Project Manager in D.C. 
• 1991: Special detail to Alaska, where he married Lana Cekarmis in D.C. and brought her with him to Alaska. 
• 1992: Formally transferred to Alaska to manage the acquisition of the FAA’s first satellite network.
• 1996: Completed the satellite network project and declined a transfer back to D.C., accepting a permanent position in Alaska as ATC Communications Regional Program Manager. 
• 2007: Retired from the FAA in January, then began consulting work in aviation technology.

Post-FAA Work and Aviation Innovations
After retiring, Melum founded Professional Telecom Technology (PTT-ak.com), focusing on aviation and telecommunications solutions. His clients included FAA contractors, Danville Signal Processing, General Dynamics, and ADS-B Technologies in Anchorage, which develops advanced air traffic control surveillance systems. He has been instrumental in ADS-B Technologies’ development of new ATC surveillance products.

Patents and Technical Contributions
Melum holds patents in aviation communications and ground vehicle tracking, including:

• Augmented Aircraft Communication System (U.S. Patent 9432108, 2016) — a non-line-of-sight communication system to augment line-of-sight aircraft communication. 
• Techniques for Reporting on or Tracking Ground Vehicles (U.S. Patent 8634827, 2016) — methods for tracking vehicles at airports or military bases using ADS-B and other communication links.

Aviation Interests Beyond Work
Melum remains active in amateur radio, even “moonbouncing” ham radio signals via the moon, winning first place in the 2007 International Earth-Moon-Earth competition and again first place in the world in 2024.  His work continues to influence modern air traffic control and surveillance technologies.

In summary, Michael Melum’s aviation career spans decades of FAA engineering, satellite communications for air traffic control, and ongoing innovation in aviation surveillance and communications systems.