The aircraft maintenance professional's source for technological advancements, maintenance alerts, news, articles, events, and careers
Issue link: http://amt.epubxp.com/i/904741
42 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY RICHARD LYTLE Aviation Technician, 39, Mente LLC, Seattle, WA R ichard Lytle has always been fascinated by aviation along with how things operated and went together. Encouraging this, his father would always seek out and take the family to avia- tion museums and airshows either for or during family vacations. He received training from Southwestern Illinois College. He received his IA in 2004. Advanced training includes Bombardier Global Express, XRS & 5000 Initial, Refresher, and Taxi Training; Bombardier Global Vision Flight Deck Differences; and Bombardier Global Series Engine Run-Up from Bombardier Training; and Bombardier Global Avionics, Gulfstream IV Initial and Update; Gulfstream V Initial and Engine Run & Taxi; Falcon 900 Initial and Refresher; Falcon 2000EX EAsy Initial; Cessna 208 Series Maintenance Initial, Update, and Troubleshooting; P&WC; PT6A Small Series Line & Base MX; and Misc Mx Principles of Troubleshooting from FlightSafety International. Lytle has received the NBAA Safety Award for 15 years acci- dent free in maintenance and several FAA Aviation Maintenance Technician Awards (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Ruby) for yearly training. He is a member of NBAA and the local PNBAA. He participates in local FAA IA renewal seminars and conferences. Nominated by Matthew Harter, instructor, Southwestern Illinois College: "Having started in the workforce at a young age in a family business, he strove to move to a rewarding career with greater opportunities. Never one to sit idle, he found employment at Midcoast Aviation in Cahokia, IL, three months before fin- ishing A&P; school. A professional, quality product was what he expected from his workers and what he delivered to his cus- tomers. He departed Jet Aviation for Mente LLC in December 2013. While at Mente, he has expanded his knowledge base from Bombardier to Cessna and Pratt & Whitney products. He continues to work tirelessly to deliver a quality product. Even exercising his IA privilege from time to time at his new workplace. Rich has made a positive impact on every worker and workplace he has been. A constant can-do attitude and "thinking outside of the box" are two things that exude from his workplace approach." To give back to the industry Lytle attends PNBAA fundraisers that raise money for scholarships and educational programs. Attending recurrent training is a "great way to share experi- ences and gain knowledge on aircraft and in general with fellow technicians," Lytle says. As for the future Lytle plans to continue to work with safety being a top priority, and continue to learn and adapt to the new technologies and techniques coming to aviation. F rom a young age Collin Stannard had a fascination with airplanes. He combined his fascination of aviation with his interest in all things mechanical and chose to become an AMT. He attibutes his career growth to mentors including what he learned from his father like a hard work ethic and patience. Dan Podojil, who was his direct manager, has taught him what it means to really put the customer first, changing his understanding of an MRO that "aircraft maintenance is just a byproduct of interactions with customers and what we sell is customer service." And last but certainly not least, his wife. Stannard started his career with Gulfstream in Savannah, GA. He began as a mechanic working on G450's and G550's and moved on to the G650 production line performing final checkouts before delivering them to the test pilots. After his first child was born, his family moved to Indianapolis, IN, his hometown, to work for Comlux Aviation. He worked in the MRO on the Bombardier product line. Less than two years later, he was offered the posi- tion of operations manager with Constant Aviation in Cleveland, OH. His job duties vary from being the customer's single point of contact to performing employee performance reviews. He received his training from American Trans-Air Aviation Training Academy and Purdue University. Advanced training includes FlightSafety training on the Gulfstream G550, factory training on the G650, Challenger 604/605 training at Bombardier in Montreal, and Airbus A319-321 Gen-Fam training. He was nominated by Dan Podojil, vice president, customer experience, Constant Aviation: "In a field that is driven by safety and quality, Collin responds to the requirements that have been established for him by the company leadership and the industry regulations. In addition, Collin has showcased innovation through how he accomplishes tasks with an emphasis on efficiency. Collin has suggested, designed, and implemented process improvements. Collin and his team designed a more effective system for sharing information to decrease down- time which ultimately provides more customer satisfaction. At Constant Aviation, we work with team members to establish a workplace where employees are valued and appreciated. Collin is fully aligned with our vision. He is a leader whose impact can be seen and heard by colleagues and customers alike." As to future goals, Stannard says, "I am driven to be the best at what I do and to grow and take on new challenges over time. Ultimately, I'd like to assume more management responsibilities and get involved in product strategy and market analysis and forecasting." COLLIN STANNARD Operations Manager, 35, Constant Aviation, Cleveland, OH