Technician Elected to Aviation Hall of Fame

Nov. 5, 2008
Joe Hawkins is an A&P with an IA and an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace Department at Middle Tennessee State University.

Joe Hawkins, a certificated Airframe and Powerplant Technician since 1979 with an Inspection Authorization since 1991, will be inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame on Nov. 15, 2008. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace Department at Middle Tennessee State University.

Hawkins is the first non-flight rated technician and the youngest inductee to be honored by the Hall. He began his civilian aviation career with Stevens Aviation in South Carolina, transferring to Nashville in 1981. At Stevens, Hawkins was responsible for the inspection and repair of general aviation/corporate class fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. In 1991, Joe became the Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician for the State of Tennessee. His training and repair experiences include Sikorsky and Bell helicopters, Beechjet, Citation and Lear business jets, King Air, MU2, and Twin Commander series turboprops and 1900 series commuter aircraft.

Hawkins has been an FAA Safety Counselor/FAAST Team Representative for more than 10 years. In 2005, he was selected as the Tennessee Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year. In March of 2006, Hawkins was the first Tennessean ever awarded the FAA’s National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year.

In addition to being a Director for AMTSociety, Hawkins is a board member of Aviation Technical Education Council and serves on several FAA public committees, the University Aviation Association and Aviation Accreditation Board International. He is a faculty and curriculum evaluator for the American Council on Education and a member of several professional aerospace organizations including the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, Civil Air Patrol, and the Experimental Aircraft Association.