PROFILE
he does that, he asks the students how many of them have heard of Charles Taylor. Usually, none of them have. So he explains how Charles Taylor designed and built the engine that powered the Wright Flyer. He tells them that they are getting ready to meet a Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award recipient.” We asked Delahoussaye what advice he gives the students.
“Always stay focused on where you want to go,” he says. “Keep a goal ahead of you. But most importantly, stay safe. Check your work. Have others check your work. Be honest. Always admit to your mistakes. You are going to make many mistakes – don’t try to hide them.” Another way Delahoussaye has given back to the
industry is by mentoring young A&Ps. “Over the years I have directly mentored four kids from college, into a job and through the job process. Today, one is a maintenance manager with Dow Chemical. Another is the head of maintenance for Oshkosh Corporation. I have tried to help and encourage each of them along their path in aviation.” I visited Delahoussaye at his home office in Brentwood,
for special contributions to the business aviation community during their careers. He was the first A&P to receive the award, and is one of only three non-pilots (the others being Howard DuFour, author of Charles E. Taylor: The Wright Brothers’ Mechanician, and Kevin Smith, who at the time of the award, was the DOM for Progress Energy) who have received the award. “This really made me feel like I had accomplished something,” Delahoussaye says. “They don’t just give the award out to anybody. I felt extremely moved by the presentation.”
FAVORITE JOB We asked Delahoussaye what his favorite job over the years has been. “I actually had two,” he says. “The people at Dallas Airmotive today remain my most treasured friends. Another company that I enjoyed working for was Embraer. They hired me when they first built the Legacy in Nashville to audit and assign service centers for the Legacy. I was the person who did due diligence for the company to purchase the site that the facility is currently located at in Nashville.”
GIVING BACK TO THE INDUSTRY Delahoussaye is passionate about giving back to the industry he loves. One way he does that is by visiting A&P schools to put on presentations for the NBAA TRACS Scholarship awards program. He visits Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN twice a year to give presentations as a TRACS ambassador. He also travels with fellow TRACS ambassadors Marlin Priest to give presentations at schools in Alabama and with Steve King to give TRACS presenta- tions at schools in Georgia. “We’ll have the senior professor at the school introduce us,” Delahoussaye says. “But before
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TN. His office is decorated with plaques and mementos. His Charles Taylor Master Mechanic and Safety awards are prominently displayed. He also has a plaque from his participation in the Brentwood Fire Department Citizens Fire Academy in 2004, a plaque from completion of the Citizen’s Police Academy course from the Brentwood police department in 2003, and a Narcotic Awareness and Resident Counterdrug Training certificate of graduation from the 21st Drug Task Force in 2006. There are also two guitars in his office, and he is teaching himself how to play them. It was also quickly evident that Delahoussaye is passionate about Corvettes. He has a Corvette as the wallpaper on his phone and computer. “I like to visit the Corvette museum in Bowling Green at least twice a year,” he says. Delahoussaye made sure I got to see his silver 2000 Corvette before I left.
One of the most prominent
displays in Delahoussaye’s office is the framed NBAA Silk Scarf Award. A note in it says: In an effort to honor outstanding
business aviation community members and inspire future aviators, the NBAA Silk Scarf Award is given to individuals for special contributions to the business aviation community during their careers. This award, presented to Patrick Delahoussaye this day is one of the most prestigious in aviation, is given to those individuals who, by virtue of a lifetime of personal dedication, have made significant identifiable contributions that have materially advanced aviation interests. Such contributions do not necessarily have to be confined to business aviation. That pretty much sums up Delahoussaye’s long and prosperous career in aviation.
DOMmagazine Photo by Ladak Productions Photography (
www.ladakproductions.com)
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