Printer Friendly Version - Wayne Hubbs: Scout’s Honor

As a manufacturing and now design engineer, Wayne Hubbs has been able to bring a hands-on approach to his career. He takes a similar approach to supporting the efforts of Madison Boy Scout Troop 490. Photo courtesy of Wayne Hubbs

Wayne Hubbs says he has been “tearing things apart” since his childhood on Long Island, and that curiosity has gone on to serve him well ever since. With a career as an engineer and as a long-time scout leader, Wayne has found his way to pursue his dream and give back to the community.

“I was heavily involved in auto racing. I was always working on cars, tinkering with cars and rebuilding engines,” says Wayne. “I think that’s what brought me to finding a career where I still maintain that enjoyment of working with my hands and taking things apart...I think that’s why I chose to get into manufacturing engineering.”

Wayne has worked in the aerospace industry for his entire career, first at Grumman out on Long Island and now with Sikorsky here in Connecticut. Unfortunately, there are aspects of his job that Wayne can’t discuss, especially in a newspaper, but it’s safe to say that he has a very cool job designing the next generation of rotary-wing aircraft.

“I ended working for Grumman Aerospace right after college and I was working on fighter jets, and as you can imagine right out of college that was an exciting opportunity,” says Wayne. “The thing about my career is that I started out in manufacturing and after 20 years I realized I was getting less interested in building aircraft than actually designing them. After dealing with all the difficulties building them and seeing how it could be done better, I took all those experiences and shifted over to design and for the last 15 years I have worked as a design lead for Sikorsky. I took all those lessons learned and like to think I am making more responsible aircraft.

“So, in terms of any lessons to kids who are thinking about getting into engineering, they should consider a degree that has some flexibility in it,” he continues. “That’s very helpful because it doesn’t pigeon hole them into one particular area and they can shift their focus. My manufacturing degree gave me the opportunity to try a lot of different things and there’s a lot of value in that.”

Wayne says his career path was a bit different than most as he transitioned from manufacture to design, but his passion for aviation and design was a huge motivator.

“That was very specific to my path. I don’t think too many people get that opportunity. I led a number of contracts and kind of moved the ranks quickly,” says Wayne. “Not too many companies are willing to do that, but if you can build up some respect in a company, you’d be surprised what they let you do and that’s when you can really take off and show that you can be a leader. Once you get that far, with that respect and leadership I think people would be surprised how many doors open up for them.”

His dedication paid off and now he designs helicopters for Sikorsky in Stratford.

“The current program I’m on, which I can’t talk publicly about, but it is a new one, utilizing completely brand new technologies, so it’s the first time I’ve worked on a completely clean-paper design in my career. I’ve waited this long and after 30 years to finally get the opportunity is rewarding. This is a really remarkable thing to bring all of your creativity to the table that you couldn’t really use before. It’s definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

Wayne has dedicated time to volunteer for career days at local schools and says it’s a great way to connect with young engineers and designers and provide hands-on information to students.

“I think it’s an invaluable asset to students for them to be able to walk into a room full of professionals who are willing to tell them the naked truth about what they do every day, to not sugar coat [it], and [to] provide an honest take on what they do as opposed to a Google search or something like that. These career fairs really go all the way. I think for kids, it’s best to lean on and learn from professionals, anyone who can provide feedback on what they do. I never had that type of feedback as a kid, and I kind of wish I did.”

Wayne also gives back by donating time to area scouting troops. Many Madison residents may know Wayne as a dedicated cub and boy scout leader for Troop 490. Wayne says many of the skills he developed in engineering have helped him in scouting, and conversely many of the skills refined in his scouting experience have been of tremendous help in his career, says Wayne.

“I was a cub scout as a kid, my mom was a den leader as a kid. So, I always thought of her as a super hero for that, and when I had kids I really wanted them to have that same experience as I had as a kid,” says Wayne. “I wanted to try that cape on, so to say, so that’s what got me to scouting and kept me there.”

Wayne says that scouting and its values are an important aspect of his life. Both his children were involved with scouting, one even achieving eagle scout status last year.

“I led cubs scouts as cub master for all the years they were in it, and when they moved on to boy scouts, I moved over, too, to Troop 490, and I have been there ever since,” says Wayne. “It’s been a remarkable three years despite the fact that COVID has prevented us from meeting in person. But I think the great friendships that develop helped push the boys hard to achieve as much as they could. I think the tools they developed, the skills they worked on, and especially the parents really helped them during this time. When parents get involved with the troops, it makes all the difference.”

Wayne says parents should consider reengaging with scouting. Seeing children grow into young men via scouting is an important motivator, Wayne says.

“Parents should see the dividends that can be attained. They learn a ton of things that they would never learn in school, but the bond they can develop with their child through scouting is amazing. The memories that my sons and I have developed—going camping, going on treks, summer camps—you really can’t get that anywhere else,” says Wayne. “Be able to sit down during the Eagle Board of Review, where we discuss the scout’s entire career—the most rewarding thing for me is to be part of that process earning a rank that only six percent of scouts ever earn. To see the young men exemplify all of the values of scouting is really the most rewarding thing.”