Age: 35
Years in Aviation: 20
Nick Staudacher is an aircraft maintenance technician-crew chief with Dow Chemical. He holds FAA certificates as an A&P with Inspection Authorization and a Commercial Pilot, Airplane single and multiengine land, instrument airplane.
Staudacher grew up in an aviation family. His father and uncle both made their livings in aviation. His dad was the DOM for Dow Chemical for nearly 30 years and his uncle designed and built unlimited aerobatic airplanes. He spent much of time as a youngster working with his dad on his 1957 H35 Bonanza and 1939 BL65 T-Craft, the airplane Staudacher learned to fly in. After high school he went to work for his uncle repairing an Extra 230, one of his uncles S600s, and helped build two new S300Es. He credits his dad and uncle for providing the biggest influence, but also feels everywhere he’s worked there has always been someone to learn from.
Staudacher says, “When it was time to get serious about starting a career I decided to become a professional pilot. I knew I would need a college degree and decided to attend Lansing Community College and get my A&P licenses while I was there. It didn’t take me to long to figure out I was having more fun working as an A&P apprentice, than I was flying, and made my move full time into the maintenance world. I still love to fly airplanes, but I love working on them a little more.”
He has a long list of specialized training he’s received from Global Jet Services, FlightSafety International, Honeywell, and the NBAA Professional Development Program.
Staudacher spends as much time as possible with the co-ops at the Dow Hangar, encouraging them to pursue careers in aviation, and he also mentors a youngster at a nearby airport as they work on his dad’s PA28-140.
Staudacher says, “My biggest career goal is to not lose interest, and to always be seeking out new opportunities for learning. Aviation as a whole, has a huge amount of opportunities and I want to experience as much of it as possible.”
