Dan Moll serves as operations manager at West Star Aviation’s Perryville facility, overseeing maintenance, painting, avionics and interior shops.
His colleague Zachary C. Brandt of West Star Aviation notes, “Dan helped get the facility back up and running and put Perryville West Star on the map…The Bombardier group is one of West Star Perryville's largest platforms and income contributors. Dan holds inspection authority and is engine-run qualified on several types of aircraft from Citation 525/560/680s to Challenger 601/604/605- 300/350/3500 and Gulfstream Giv G450s.”
Moll shares, “I got to work on cleaning up the facility and GSE and getting the site operational again. We started out working on GIV aircraft performing maintenance and stripe color changes in a strip and paint facility. We then began acquiring additional hangars and added Bombardier, Citation and Hawker programs along with interior and avionics departments, becoming a full-service MRO.”
When asked what he enjoys most about his job, Moll discusses the opportunity to engage in problem-solving. He says, “Troubleshooting issues and solving problems was always my favorite part of the job when I was working aircraft on the road or in the hangar. I still get involved in the difficult troubleshooting issues, however a lot of my problem solving now involves aircraft schedules, manpower adjustment and employee needs.”
Dan shares his hopes for the aviation maintenance industry, stating, “I would like to see companies really invest in new technician training. New techs that enter the job with an A&P or without require a lot of mentoring before they can confidently stand on their feet and progress forward in their career.”
Moll adds, “People all learn and progress at different rates, and if we want to produce quality techs, we need to understand that and plan and budget for the required time.”
To future aviation maintenance professionals, Dan says, “The industry we work in demands quality. Push yourself to turn out the highest quality of work and strive to improve upon that. Put in the time, do the jobs that others don’t want to do and deliver exceptional quality. Always keep your mindset that there is something else to learn or master.”
