Master Mechanic Pat Hange

When Patricia “Pat” Hange received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in 2000, she made aviation history as the first certificated woman aircraft mechanic to receive the FAA honor. But the award represented much more than a milestone for women in aviation—it recognized a hands-on maintenance career that began shortly after World War II and continued for more than half a century.

Hange got her start at an airport in Willoughby, Ohio, fueling airplanes and helping mechanics before spending 10 years inspecting aircraft parts for Thompson Products. She earned her Airframe mechanic certificate in 1964, added her Powerplant rating in 1974, and earned Inspection Authorization in 1978. She became particularly well known for her expertise in fabric work and aircraft maintenance and was one of only a handful of women holding an IA at the time.

In 1962, Hange and fellow aviator Harriet Hamilton established Lenox Flight School, eventually moving the operation to Florida. Hamilton handled much of the powered-aircraft instruction and towing while Hange became the operation’s mechanic and glider instructor. Their partnership lasted approximately four decades. Along the way, Hange maintained and rebuilt aircraft, taught students to fly, became a designated glider examiner, and earned a reputation throughout Florida’s soaring community for her mechanical expertise.

The FAA presented Hange with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award on August 29, 2000, recognizing 50 years of aviation maintenance. She was later inducted into the Soaring Hall of Fame. Hange’s career helped open doors in a profession where women were once exceedingly rare, but perhaps the best description of her motivation came from Hange herself: working on aircraft was simply her “big joy.” Her lifetime of craftsmanship, instruction, and dedication to aviation safety made that passion a lasting contribution to the maintenance profession.
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Sources: Federal Aviation Administration; National Soaring Museum; Aviation Pros/AMT.