AMTSociety Update August 2015
The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is named in honor of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight. The Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” Award recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior mechanics. Taylor served as the Wright brothers' mechanic and is credited with designing and building the engine for their first successful aircraft.
Here are a two recent recipients of the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award. Congratulations to these and all the recipients of the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.
William Gontko
William Gontko from the Rockford, IL, area was an employee at Kaney Aerospace for eight years and worked in aviation for over 50 years. Gontko says he feels lucky to have had a career he loves. “A lot of people come to air shows and wish they could do everything they could possibly do with aviation, but never have the opportunity," says Gontko. "I did, and I was very fortunate. "Kaney Aerospace has made the journey that much nicer here on the Rockford Airfield."
Gary Ward
Gary Ward is a 53-year veteran in the aviation industry and a 48-year employee at Stevens Aviation in Greenville, SC. During his career at Stevens Aviation, Ward became the industry’s recognized technical leader for King Airs. He has held positions as technician, engine crew foreman, shop floor foreman, maintenance manager, maintenance customer service manager, and TSD salesman. And he has performed maintenance, repairs and inspections on dozens of aircraft, including Beech-18, King Air, Queen Air, Baron, Bonanza, Lear Jet, and Citation. Before joining Stevens, Ward served in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1965, where her performed maintenance and inspections on T-38, A6, A7, and Intruder aircraft.
Eligibility Criteria
Visit www.faasafety.gov to find the selection criteria and nomination process.
The candidate must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the Charles Taylor "Master Mechanic" award:
- Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen
- Employment: Worked for a period of 50 years in an aviation maintenance career. (The 50 years may be computed consecutively or nonconsecutively.)
- The applicant must have been an FAA-certificated mechanic or repairman working on N-registered aircraft maintained under the Federal Aviation Regulations for a minimum of 30 of the 50 years required.
- The remaining 20 years may be accepted if that individual served as an aircraft mechanic/repairman in the U.S. military; or worked as an uncertificated person in a U.S. aviation maintenance facility that maintained U.S.-registered aircraft, either domestic or overseas; or worked as an uncertificated person in the aircraft manufacturing industry in the United States, producing U.S. type-certificated or U.S. military aircraft.
Any individual who had his or her FAA mechanic certificate, FAA repairman certificate, FAA Designated Mechanic Examiner (DME), or FAA Inspection Authorization (IA) revoked by the FAA is ineligible for this award.