PROFILE Joe grew up in Janesville, WI and has
been around aviation all his life. His dad, Nick, was a mechanic and pilot. “My brother, sister and I pretty much grew up around the airport,” Joe says. “My brother works as a mechanic for United Airlines in Chicago.”
Joe knew what he wanted to do when he graduated from high school — become an aircraft mechanic. He applied to Blackhawk Technical College, a part 147 school, then located at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport in Janesville,
towards the end of his Senior year of school. “I didn’t know I was accepted until three days before classes started,” he shares. “Archie Henklemann, an instructor at the school, called me up on a Friday asking, ‘Can you be here on Monday?’ I said, ‘Yes sir,’ and began A&P classes three days later.” We asked Joe if A&P school was what he expected. “Pretty much,” he says. “I really didn’t know what to expect. I took all sorts of auto mechanic classes in school. It was kind of in the same realm, but more intense.” While he was attending Blackhawk,
Joe worked at the Beloit, WI airport as a line guy. He also helped with maintenance for the flight school at the airport. He also worked at the Cottonwood airport North of Rockford, IL with Norse Air. This helped him gain experience while also making a little spending money. While Joe was in school, his dad Nick was working for Blackhawk Airways across the tarmac from Blackhawk Technical College. He also owned a subsidiary company called Aircraft Maintenance Specialists, which he had started in the 1970s. Once Joe graduated from Blackhawk in 1990, he rolled his toolbox across the tarmac to work with his dad at Blackhawk Airways. The company did Part 135 charter and freight operations. It also performed outside maintenance and restoration projects under Part 91. One of his first jobs was helping restore a Curtiss P-40. Joe was also still working at the Cottonwood airport on the weekends helping to maintain the flight school’s airplanes. Joe says a few older mechanics helped mentor him and helped him learn the ropes. “I learned the basics in school, but doing it is a lot different,” he shares. “They helped me out a lot.”
Bob Hansen, a customer of Blackhawk Airways, bought the Beloit, WI airport. Hansen had a
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