Industry News

Oct. 26, 2012
News update, a look at the space shuttle and Master Mechanic Awards

Master Mechanic Awards

Robert Lawson 

On Sept. 7, 2012, Robert Lawson of Hoffman Estates, IL, received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award from FAA Safety Team Program Manager Scott Landorf of the DuPage FSDO. Lawson received his A&P license in 1960 after having completed a degree in aviation maintenance from Purdue University. He worked as an aircraft mechanic for Continental Airlines for more than 41 years and retired in 2002. He has continued to perform maintenance on Cessna 150 and Piper Turbo Arrow to the present. In 2003 he earned a private pilot license after having started flying lessons in 1958 in a J-3 Cub.

Ted Herron

Ted Herron is an aircraft mechanic for Phoenix Air Group in Cartersville, GA. He was nominated by Cary Roth, one of his co-workers for the Charles E. Taylor Master Mechanic Award.  The award was presented to him by the FAA at a ceremony held at the local airport. He is the 20th winner of this award in the state of Georgia.

Jerry Weiler

Upon graduating from high school in 1959, Jerry Weiler began his flight training here in Port Angeles with Angeles Flying Service, where he worked both fueling airplanes, and maintaining them under the supervision of Bill Fairchild and Bill Meyers to pay for those lessons. He earned his Private Pilot license in 1961, then his Powerplant Mechanic license in 1962, followed by his Airframe rating in 1963. In 1962, he opened his own aircraft maintenance shop, Weiler’s Aircraft Maintenance. He worked there continuously until 2005, when he sold his business to Rite Bros. Aviation. He then continued working at Rite Bros. Aviation.

Weiler exemplifies the consummate aviation professional. He has the highest ethical and professional standards. He is meticulously thorough in his inspections, repairs and maintenance of aircraft. He is a pillar of the community, and a legend in aircraft maintenance in this area. His work ethic, at almost 70 years of age, is still amazing, running circles around those decades his junior. His knowledge of FAA regulations, procedures, acceptable methods, and practices pertaining to aircraft maintenance gained over more than 50 years is truly remarkable. He is a role model to all of us.

Charles Reynolds 

Charles Reynolds’ fascination for airplanes started not long after the end of WWll, at about age six. He lived in North East Portland and from his upstairs bedroom window with the aid of binoculars, he could see the Portland Airport. After his family moved to Washington, he worked at a local FBO, soaking up all he could. On Aug. 26, 1969, he got his A&P certificate and went to work for Trans World Airlines in Los Angeles, that same week. He was a line mechanic maintaining Convair 880, Boeing 727, all series of Boeing 707’s and Boeing 720 B, Boeing 747, and Lockheed 1011 aircraft. Then he went back to Longview, WA, and the FBO at the Kelso Airport and earned his IA. After that he worked on helicopters at Soloy Conversions.  From there he followed a mentor to the FAA and served as Aviation Safety Inspector, General Aviation, Airworthiness, for the Seattle Flight Standards District office in Renton, WA.

“Aviation Maintenance is a wonderful career,” Reynolds says. “I have no regrets and I have met many fine people along the way. I love Aviation to this day and always will. My intent is to remain active as long as I can and doing whatever I can in the field of aviation maintenance.”

GA in Indonesia

ExecuJet Aviation Group and P.T. Dimitri Utama Abadi have signed a joint venture agreement to manage General Aviation Terminals (GAT) at up to 13 airports in Indonesia. P.T. Dimitri Utama Abadi is a new private company, formed to serve as the Indonesian partner for the joint venture P.T. ExecuJet Indonesia. The agreement was signed by ExecuJet Asia’s Managing Director Graeme Duckworth and P.T. Dimitri Utama Abadi’s CEO Soetikno Soedarjo. The joint venture follows the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between ExecuJet and Angkasa Pura 1 in May 2012, to design, construct and manage the GATs.

Remote control LED light

Larson Electronics’ Magnalight.com adds the GL-9049-24V LED Golight to its inventory of remote controlled spotlights. This high power spotlight combines the long life and high efficiency of LED technology to produce a powerful and reliable lighting solution capable of operating within a wide variety of professional applications. Producing 2,520 lumens and capable of throwing a light beam over 900 feet in length, it is designed to provide extreme reliability while allowing operators to remotely control on/off operation and vertical and horizontal movement from up to 100 feet away. For more information call (800) 369-6671  or visit www.magnalight.com.

HAECO and Cathay Pacific form joint venture

Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) and Cathay Pacific Airways have teamed up to form a joint venture company, HAECO ITM Limited, in Hong Kong to provide inventory technical management services to Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, as well as other airline customers. HAECO ITM services primarily cover provisions and pool management of components inventory, management of component repairs/overhaul and engineering/reliability, supply chain management, and 24/7 AOG support.

HXITM, 70 percent/30 percent owned by HAECO and Cathay Pacific respectively, will be managed by HAECO, with staff from the existing HAECO ITM business and Cathay Pacific Engineering, combining the technical expertise and operational excellence from a leading airline group and a top-tier aircraft engineering service provider. The joint venture will take over HAECO’s existing aircraft component assets, and combine it with Cathay Pacific’s existing inventory, to support airline customers.

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