A local aircraft mechanic was celebrated for five decades of service to the aviation industry.

Vincent Chicoine was given the most distinguished aircraft maintenance award recognized by the FAA, the Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” Award, This award is given to celebrate senior mechanics who have worked for 50 years.

Chicoine was not only gifted a plaque, pins, and certificates commemorating his achievements, but the FAA also printed and bound every document on file they had that showed what projects he’s worked on spanning back to the 1970s.

After receiving his award, Chicoine said he hoped that the next generation could follow in his footsteps.

"I’d like to encourage young people to think about getting into the aircraft maintenance business because there’s a lot of different skills you can learn there,” said Chicoine.
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He is just the 30th Iowan to receive the Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” Award.

“If you have ever owned a toolbox containing a wrench with which you serviced an aircraft, this month’s recognition is for you. And May 24th is your day because it is the birth date of Charles Edward Taylor.”
– Giacinta Koontz, CAMP InSight, May 2017

Aviation historian, and author, Giacinta Bradley Koontz, or simply ‘Gia," in her monthly column for CAMP InSight magazine, Gia wrote, ‘Many dozens of people helped push for Aircraft Maintenance Technician Day, but three key advocates are John Goglia, Ken MacTiernan, and Richard Dilbeck. Since 2002 Goglia, MacTiernan and Dilbeck have relentlessly gained state Proclamations and now, Resolutions in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Goglia has been an aircraft mechanic and former NTSB official; MacTiernan is President of the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Association and a long-term maintenance technician for American Airlines. FAA Flight Standards Office employee Dilbeck has gone beyond his job description to keep the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award program on track.’’ 

The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is an honor presented by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior aviation mechanics. It is the most prestigious award the FAA issues to persons certified under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The award recognizes individuals who have exhibited professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise for at least 50 years in the aircraft maintenance profession as “master mechanics.” A distinctive certificate and lapel pin is issued after application review, and eligibility requirements have been met. Upon request, a stickpin similar in design to the lapel pin is also provided to the award recipient’s spouse in recognition of his or her support to the recipient’s aviation maintenance career.
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Once the award has been issued, the recipient’s name, city, and state are added to a published “Roll of Honor,” located at www.faasafety.gov.  As of this year, 359 AMTs from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have received the award, and their names are listed on the Roll.
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If 10,00 hours of practice could make a master airline mechanic, what do 50 years make?

Five decades of work can add up to a nationally recognized Charles Taylor Master Mechanic, a Federal Aviation Administration award named for the Wright Brothers’ mechanic and a “blue package” of personal aviation history documented by the FAA. Even rarer than receiving one master airman award is to receive the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award at the same time – like a Moon Township resident, one of three awardees, did on March 25.
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For the first time, the FAA safety team visited the Air Heritage Museum adjacent to the Beaver County Airport in Chippewa Township, not to peruse vintage planes and artifacts, but to honor these three elite airmen: Gregory Werking of Ohioville, Raymond Dougherty of Moon and double-award recipient Donald Mueller of Moon.

“Everybody’s seen (the Tom Cruise film) 'Maverick,' but they can’t tell you about the people who keep them flying, who are trusted with their lives, literally,” remarked FAA safety team member and evening emcee Steven Steele before sharing the awardees’ life highlights.

Werking, a 35-year Air Heritage member, also has the distinction of serving as the Air Heritage hangar chief, keeping the building and its equipment going while chasing down or making parts that he and other volunteers install in vintage planes. His current projects include the “Thunder Pig,” a C-123 used to transport troops and supplies in Vietnam, a behemoth whose wings almost stretch the walls of the hangar’s width.

Eugene Comer, an instructor in Lansing Community College’s Aviation Maintenance Technology program, has received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in recognition of more than 50 years of aviation maintenance experience. The award was presented to Comer by Richard Anderson, FAA Front Line Manager, Eastern Michigan Flight Standards District Office, and Gary Knaggs, FAASTeam Program Manager, Eastern Michigan Flight Standards District Office, during an aircraft maintenance technician conference at Eastern Michigan University.
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The Charles Taylor Award is the most prestigious award presented by the FAA to an aviation maintenance technician. The award, named in honor of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight, recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of aircraft mechanics. Charles Taylor served as the Wright brothers’ mechanic and is credited with designing and building the engine for the 1903 Wright Flyer, the first aircraft to achieve heavier-than-air flight. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals who have exhibited professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise for at least 50 years in the aircraft maintenance profession as “master mechanics.”