William Mastley, 33, is Avionics/Mission Systems Lead for Orbital ATK in Fort Worth, TX.

Mastley was involved in aviation at an early age. His family owned a Cessna dealer and repair station and flight school. Both his grandfathers were pilots as well as an aunt who was a pilot and also an FAA inspector in Albuquerque, NM. He credits his father as his mentor; he was a sheet metal mechanic and the owner and president of Crystal Shamrock Aviation in Crystal, MN, before becoming an FAA inspector in Scottsdale, AZ.

He started working at the age of 15 doing line service work and started shadowing mechanics at age 17. At 18, he joined the Air Force and received training on C130 Aircraft and MH-53 Pave Low Helicopters. He earned his A&P while in the USAF. After leaving the USAF in 2007 he moved to Belgium to work for Winters Aviation doing Thielert Engine conversions on Cessna 172s, Piper Warriors, and Cessna 206s. After returning to the U.S. in 2008, he worked for Landmark Aviation until he was recruited to work on a Cessna 172 Thielert training program with L3 Aerospace Vertex in Kirkuk, Iraq. During his first year with the program, he became the lead mechanic for 12 C-172s. Next he began working for ATK sustaining modified C-208 aircraft. 

Besides his training in the military, he has taken classes from Aviall and FlightSafety International. He is progressing toward maintenance and avionics Master Technician certificates. He has also attended classes on the Garmin G1000, Thielert Diesel Engine, Pratt & Whitney Hot Section Inspection, and earned his FCC Certificate and private pilot’s license.

In 2006 Mastley received the 58 Special Operations Maintenance Squadron Steel Horse Award for Maintenance Excellence. He also received recognition by the 58 Special Operations Maintenance Group Commander for 9 Zero-Defect Quality Assurance evaluations.

He was nominated by Brad Hayes, vice president, Orbital ATK Special Mission Aircraft, who says: As the Avionics Lead for international CLS Operations, Bill leads a team providing sustainment services including all maintenance and support training for highly modified special mission aircraft, spare part management, component repair, publication updates, maintenance training, and logistics. Additionally, Bill’s military experience and recognized technical prowess make him a natural ambassador to his customers in countries across the globe. As a result of his customer focus, he has been able to help customers shape their own requirements and continue improving on aircraft already fielded. His hands-on approach has produced a maintenance training curriculum that transcends language barriers. Graduates of the programs he influenced include squadrons from Columbia, Peru, Mexico, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and other nations.

In terms of giving back to the industry, Mastley donates his time to help veterans work toward getting A&P certificates by teaching hands-on skills utilized by all mechanics.

Future goals include completing his bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle and pursuing opportunities in aviation-related program management or business development.