Age: 34
Years in Aviation: 15
Nicholas Temple holds his A&P certificate and attended Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL. Temple began working at Poplar Grove Airmotive in Poplar Grove, IL, overhauling general aviation components such as magnetos, starters, and alternators during his last year at A&P school. He started working line maintenance for Air Wisconsin at Chicago O’Hare Airport in 2001 and is currently a maintenance crew chief for Air Wisconsin Airline Corporation in Norfolk, VA.
His daily responsibilities include working and/or assisting on out of service aircraft, parts research and procurement, organizing the nightly maintenance, and giving job assignments.
He’s attended GE engine factory school and Rockwell Collins factory training, Shorts Thrust Reverser factory school, and flight simulator taxi training and has received the FAA Diamond Award for training activities.
Temple comes from a family of airline mechanics. He says, “My father was my inspiration and motivation to get into aviation. He is a mechanic for United Airlines for 51 years now at ORD. Being around aviation my entire life and seeing what my father did inspired me. One event stands out.
“I was 10 years old and we had traveled to Arizona to visit family. When we sat in our seats the captain came over the PA saying they had a maintenance issue. We were in Tucson, AZ, which had no United mechanics so my father proceeded to walk up to the flight deck and talked to the crew. He came back to his seat, took his suit jacket off, and told me and my mom he would be back in a few minutes. He returned shortly with his sleeves rolled up and dirt on his hands. He washed up and returned to his seat. I asked what he did and he simply told me he fixed the plane and we would be underway and headed home soon. After a few minutes the captain told the entire aircraft what happened. As soon as the captain stopped talking, the plane erupted in applause and cheering. That was the moment I wanted to be a mechanic like my dad.”
