PROFILE
know what I was doing, but I enjoyed helping and learning. I was the kid that took everything apart, and I was always asking myself, ‘How does that work?’ It would bother some people to no end. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was preparing myself for a life of challenge.”
AIR FORCE ACADEMY Townsend wanted to go to the Air Force Academy when he graduated from high school in 1973. He got a recom- mendation from his Congressman to go into the Air Force fighter training school at the Academy. He already had flight experience — he soloed at 16 and obtained his private pilot certificate at 18. He was looking forward to the opportuni- ties the Air Force Academy would offer. But the Air Force Academy was not meant to be. He
washed out because of his eyesight. He had 20/25 vision, and the cut-off line was 20/15. “That’s kind of where my world came crashing down,” Townsend shares. “I had been living vicariously through my dad. Now I had to figure out what else I wanted to do.”
MINNEAPOLIS AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE One of Brad’s friends told him about Minneapolis Area Technical College’s aircraft maintenance program. His friend was enrolled in the program and he encouraged Brad to en- roll to obtain his A&P certificate. Townsend took his friend’s advice and enrolled in the school. He was able to continue working at Elliot while attending school.
INTEGRITY TESTED Brad’s integrity would be put to the test around this time in his career. He was working alone on the night shift at Elliot. It was around -25 F with a brisk wind blowing. A blizzard was approaching, and Townsend had to stack around 22 general aviation aircraft in the hangar. During the stacking, he backed a Cessna 422 into another aircraft, putting a dent in the tip tank. That’s where integrity came in. “The incident happened at around 1:00 a.m., and I had to be at school at 7:30 that morning,” Townsend tells D.O.M. “The first concern was would I be late for school? The school was very strict on attendance. If you were two min-
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Townsend decided to enroll in the University of Minnesota to pursue an engineering degree. But after six months there, he realized it wasn’t for him. “So then I was really stuck,” he tells D.O.M. “But I knew that I had always felt at home at an airport. I got a job with Elliot Beechcraft in Flying Cloud, MN. It was a part time job working on the flight line” Brad enjoyed working at Elliot. He would spend as much time as he could at work learning from everyone there. When D.O.M. magazine asked Townsend if that is when the aviation maintenance bug bit him, he replied, “I never knew I got bit. Working in aviation maintenance is what I wanted to do — there was never a question. I truly enjoyed work- ing at Elliot. There were never enough hours in the day.”
utes late, you had to make the time up. How could I go to school and tell them I was late because I dented an airplane? “Another concern was that I had seen before where an
employee had damaged an airplane and they got fired. I could have easily gotten fired because of that incident. There was the temptation to cover it up. I had my career in front of me and everyone liked me. How could I tell my boss the next morning?” Townsend pushed the temptation aside and reported the incident. The reaction wasn’t good — the company was going to let Townsend go. The owner of the 422 was very upset and wanted a new tip tank. Luckily, one of Townsend’s A&P instructors felt bad about the situation. He contacted the DOM at Elliot and proposed that Brad would repair the damage (under
09.10 2009
10
DOMmagazine
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
