Stockton aviation mechanic wins Wright Brothers award as skilled trades face challenges
For nearly five decades, Paul McKenzie has kept planes flying out of Stockton.
Now, the longtime aviation mechanic and CEO of Big Valley Aviation – the oldest business at Stockton Metropolitan Airport – is working to pass that knowledge on as the skilled trades industry faces a changing future.
"A lot of people say we're crazy for being in this industry because it requires so much responsibility and knowledge to succeed in the business," McKenzie said. "We look at it two and three times to make sure it's done correctly and properly."
Those safety checks are critical before any aircraft is cleared to fly. Big Valley Aviation says that, in 52 years, it has not had an accident involving an aircraft released from its shop.
The company was founded in 1974, and McKenzie arrived in Stockton three years later after moving his young family for a job opportunity. He started as a mechanic and eventually became CEO of the employee-owned company, though he says the work still means wearing many hats, sometimes including janitor.
"[If] the wheel falls off of your car after you get your tires installed, well, it's an inconvenience," McKenzie said. "If a part on the helicopter breaks, it's a life-threatening situation."
McKenzie recently won the prestigious Federal Aviation Administration Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award, named after the Wright Brothers' first aviation mechanic involved in the first powered flight.
"You don't have to be that great, you just have to stick around a long time to get a Charles Taylor Award. But in that 51 years, I've learned a lot. And now I'm mentoring more people," McKenzie said.
One of those people is his granddaughter Annika Houschildt. The 23-year-old holds a pilot's and aircraft mechanic's license and works at the hangar with him.
"He brings me a donut every morning," Houschildt said. "On a serious note, it's nice because we can have private conversations, but then work conversations, and he just has so much to offer."
Those conversations include teaching his granddaughter how to install an engine on a helicopter for the first time.
Houschildt calls every day "a new adventure".
"He teaches me all the mechanics, all the wrenching stuff, but I do that for students who want to learn how to fly, how to get their pilot's license ... he has a lot of knowledge to share, so that's kind of why I started working here," Houschildt said.
She adds: "I was working on fixed-wing on airplanes before, and I wasn't – bored's probably not the right word. But I was just kind of doing the same thing over and over again and I wanted to change ... I wanted to get into helicopters while I could and learn as much as I could before he's done."
Hangars worldwide are looking for more mechanics, with the next generation facing a serious shortage.
"In today's world, there's a shortage of mechanics and a shortage of training, and a shortage of knowledge," McKenzie said.
That's why McKenzie is focused on passing down what he knows, including to his granddaughter and to Paul Shelton, an experienced mechanic who has worked at Big Valley Aviation for seven years.
The need is growing. A recent Canadian Aviation Electronics aviation talent forecast found that 83% of aircraft maintenance technicians worldwide are expected to retire or leave the field within the next decade.
"I can't run a shop, so there's a big gap there," Houschildt said. "And it's just hard to find the people who can continue to have the knowledge to keep the fleet flying."
While they may not be able to control the state of aviation mechanics, they are doing what they can to control what they can – and that's making flying more accessible to people.
"Anybody can turn a wrench and fix an aircraft, but how good are you at fixing that aircraft?" McKenzie said.
McKenzie's favorite part of his profession of five decades?
"Seeing the aircraft fly away ... Knowing that you gave it life again and it can go fly away safely," McKenzie said.
For anyone interested in learning about becoming an aircraft mechanic, Houschildt would recommend getting hands-on experience, going to a shop, and learning from experienced mechanics first-hand, like her grandfather.