The Hon. John J. Goglia recalls how proud he was when he got his Airframe and Powerplant Certifications after graduating from East Coast Aero Tech in Bedford, Massachusetts in 1963. With his A&P license in hand, he signed on for his first job as a mechanic for United Airlines. “New York has always been special to me because that is where I started my career at United Air Lines at JFK Airport. It was during the Jet Age, and jets were just starting to be worked on. Getting up to the line and working on a jet airplane was always a thrill for us young guys stuck in the hangar,” said Mr. Goglia in an interview with Metropolitan Airport News.

Mr. Goglia worked for United at JFK until the airline laid off several mechanics in 1965. He went on to work for the airline in Washington, D.C., and then onto Baltimore. In between that time, he married a girl from Boston who was very close to her family in Massachusetts. Wanting to move back home to Massachusetts, Goglia searched for the only job he could find in Boston as a mechanic, and he was hired by Allegheny Airlines. “I went with Allegheny, and it actually changed my career because Allegheny treated their maintenance people a lot differently than United, and so I grew with Allegheny over the course of the next 30 years. They gave me freedom, and I ended up doing a lot of jobs that typically a mechanic for other airlines may never get to do…on the quality side, on special projects, as an inspector, a crew chief,  all kinds of jobs within the maintenance department.”

Allegheny went through several mergers with Lake Central, Mohawk, Pacific Southwest Airlines, and then Piedmont. Goglia got on a committee over people assigned to work the mergers before they took place, doing many tasks, other than turning wrenches, to bring the two companies together. 

In the course of his career, Goglia worked on many types of aircraft, starting with the DC-6, DC-7, 8, 9s, Convairs, Caravelles, 720s, 727s, 747s, and the BAC-One Eleven. He also worked the non-scheduled side of the house. “I had two jobs, looking for extra income… with three kids, and I worked the Lockheed air terminal. 

When Allegheny became U.S. Airways, some of the unique jobs Goglia had took him to Washington, D.C. He worked with the FAA for several years, reviewing flight safety and maintenance rules. This work got him noticed and allowed him to put his name in for a position with the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). Shortly after Goglia received a call from the White House and was subsequently Presidentially-appointed under the Clinton Administration as an NTSB Board member, serving in that role from 1995-2004.

John Goglia received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award after 53 years as a certificate holder in March 2017. At the time, he was promoting other people for the award. He said, “When you do that, you tend not to make accolades for yourself. It was secretly done behind my back, so I was surprised with the award at a competition I run called the Aerospace Maintenance Competition which took place a few years ago. My family flew down, and it was a big event. They had me crying.” 

Goglia reflected upon how FAA national resource specialist, the late Bill O’Brien, pushed hard to get the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in place and how O’Brien really made it happen through his dogged determination and keeping it alive until somebody in the FAA thought it was a good idea and moved it forward. “Mechanics just do their job…a mechanic’s attitude is “see problem, fix problem, next problem,” said Golia, adding, “The Award is very important for the mechanics in general because it is one of the few forms of recognition that you have for a career, an unblemished career, because if you have problems with enforcement, you’re not going to get it. You have to have a clean record. It’s a tribute to what you’ve accomplished over the course of your career.”

Note: The author of this article is Metropolitan Airport News. They want to thank Charles Taylor II, Ken MacTiernan, and Joshua Lang for their assistance with this article.

The FAA’s most prestigious award for pilots is the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, and for aircraft mechanics, is the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award. The first 19 minutes of the video show a documentary of Orville and Wilbur Wright and mechanic Charles Taylor, who are credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane. It then details the requirements for the master pilot and master mechanic awards. This is the video shown preceding an award presentation ceremony.

Nominate a Master Mechanic: https://www.faasafety.gov/content/MasterMechanic/​

The Charles E. Taylor Master Mechanic Award is presented by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This award is presented to mechanics with both 50 years in aviation maintenance and 30 years FAA certified. Charles E. Taylor built the first aircraft engine used by the Wright Brothers in 1903. In addition, Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) day is May 24, his birthday. On this day, AMTs are celebrated everywhere for their challenging work and dedication to the aviation industry.

This year, Aviation Institute of Maintenance –Norfolk instructor Ken Wiley was awarded the Charles E. Taylor award on AMT Day in front of his family, students, and fellow instructors. Ken Wiley has been an AIM instructor since 2008, however his experience in the industry goes back half a century. His experience started as an apprentice aircraft mechanic in 1971 at the Naval Air Rework Facility in Norfolk, Virginia. After graduating from the apprentice program in 1975, he worked his way up the ranks and became a lead aircraft mechanic, and later an Aircraft Engineering Technician at the Naval Air Rework Facility.

In 1984, Wiley earned an FAA commercial pilot certificate with Instrument rating. In addition to serving at the Naval Air Rework Facility, he worked part time as a jump plane pilot at Suffolk Sky Sports in Suffolk, Virginia, taking skydivers up for parachute jumps. In 2003, he earned his FAA Private Pilot Certificate. His work as an aviation mechanic has brought him up and down the east coast as far as Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. In Mayport, Wiley provided technical support to Seahawk Helicopter operating squadrons.

After retiring from government service in 2008, Wiley returned to Hampton Roads to AIM and has consistently inspired students with his extensive knowledge and experience in the industry. More recently, Wiley earned a FAA Remote Pilot Certificate (drone pilot) in 2017. Ken Wiley’s career in aviation came full circle when he received the highest honor for maintenance technicians. Instructors like Ken Wiley offer students an example of where a career in aviation can truly take you.

Joe Lienau, a Sturgeon Bay native who lives in Fish Creek, was recently awarded the Federal Aviation Agency’s (FAA) highest, most prestigious awards: the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.

The awards recognize 50 continuous years of exemplary aviation flight experience, professionalism and steadfast commitment to aviation safety. 

Fewer than 1% of all pilots and mechanics in the United States have ever received both awards. Lienau is one of two recipients in Wisconsin.

Jurg Grossenbacher of the Milwaukee Flight Standards District Office presented Lienau with the awards during a Wisconsin Department of Transportation conference in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Lienau was an American Airlines captain who retired after 35 years of service. He still flies his own airplane, and he’s a certified flight instructor and aircraft mechanic. 

Dale Arthur Meiler, floor inspector at Banyan Air Service, was recently honored as a recipient of the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Meiler is one of only 3,018 recipients of The Charles Taylor Award, the most prestigious FAA award to an aviation maintenance technician. Named in honor of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight, award recipients are required to have 50 years of civil and/or military maintenance experience with no violations.

Meiler began his aviation maintenance career in the U.S. Army as a helicopter mechanic and served in the Vietnam War. After the military, he graduated from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University with his A&P License. Meiler joined Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sept. 9, 1983, as the lead technician. During those early years, Meiler was crucial to Banyan’s maintenance department’s certification because of his experience and relationship with the FAA. He added quality into the inspection process and increased awareness, safety, and efficiency for the entire MRO department as the Floor Inspector.

“It was an honor and a pleasure to work with a man of Dale’s caliber. His professionalism and integrity served as bookends to his core commitment to quality and our customers’ safety,” said Lewis Homsher, quality manager of MRO Services at Banyan Air Service.
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Meiler has mentored countless junior technicians and has been promoted to several positions of increased responsibilities during his 37 years with the Banyan team. Dale was also the recipient of the NATA Technician of the Year award in 2006. Banyan is proud to have been a part of Dale’s invaluable career in the aviation industry and congratulate him on his retirement.