Posted on Feb 6, 2022
'Walking encyclopedia': West Milford Air Force vet to be awarded Master Mechanic Award
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https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/passaic/west-milford/2022/02/04/master-mechanic-award-west-milford-nj-air-force/ [login to see] /
It's been cold in Robert Menier's Newfoundland garage. After-dinner airplane fabrication has occasionally been out of the question.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Menier's retirement hobby is slightly more complex and expensive than most. Fabricating a light recreational airplane similar to a Piper Cub from plans is also risky, he admits.
"Sometimes it's a little chilly down there," said Menier. "I have a heater in there now, so that may help it out."
Menier is not a pilot. Still, he is especially qualified, said Don Provost, the treasurer and newsletter editor for Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 501.
"Bob Menier is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of the parts that go into the airframe of a corporate jet," he said. "[He knows] what can and must be done safely to keep them in good repair."
It's been cold in Robert Menier's Newfoundland garage. After-dinner airplane fabrication has occasionally been out of the question.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Menier's retirement hobby is slightly more complex and expensive than most. Fabricating a light recreational airplane similar to a Piper Cub from plans is also risky, he admits.
"Sometimes it's a little chilly down there," said Menier. "I have a heater in there now, so that may help it out."
Menier is not a pilot. Still, he is especially qualified, said Don Provost, the treasurer and newsletter editor for Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 501.
"Bob Menier is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of the parts that go into the airframe of a corporate jet," he said. "[He knows] what can and must be done safely to keep them in good repair."
'Walking encyclopedia': West Milford Air Force vet to be awarded Master Mechanic Award
Posted from northjersey.com
Hobbies
Flying
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""Bob Menier is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of the parts that go into the airframe of a corporate jet," he said. "[He knows] what can and must be done safely to keep them in good repair."
The claim is backed up by evidence, according to officials at the Federal Aviation Administration. Later this February, they will award the West Milford native with their Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.
Air Force veteran and retired aircraft technician Bob Menier is building a small airplane in the garage of his West Milford, NJ home on February 3, 2022. Wooden ribs that Menier constructed will be the wings of the aircraft covered with a synthetic fabric.
Created in 1993 to recognize lifetime achievements, the award has been given to fewer than 100 New Jersey residents. It was named for the mechanic who built the engine used by the Wright brothers in their historic powered flight. Eligibility requirements are lofty. They include 50 or more years of civil and military maintenance experience.
Menier's clock started in 1968 when he joined the United States Air Force. The 72-year-old's fascination with aircraft nonetheless began far earlier. As a child, he built and flew model aircraft with his father, a diesel mechanic and Navy veteran who went to Aviation High School in Queens, New York. When winter hit, they would trek out onto the ice of Mount Glen Lakes and launch their wound-rubber or gas-fueled aircraft.
"It's hard to find flat areas around here and stuff without trees, so we had to wait until the lakes froze," he said."...
...""Bob Menier is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of the parts that go into the airframe of a corporate jet," he said. "[He knows] what can and must be done safely to keep them in good repair."
The claim is backed up by evidence, according to officials at the Federal Aviation Administration. Later this February, they will award the West Milford native with their Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.
Air Force veteran and retired aircraft technician Bob Menier is building a small airplane in the garage of his West Milford, NJ home on February 3, 2022. Wooden ribs that Menier constructed will be the wings of the aircraft covered with a synthetic fabric.
Created in 1993 to recognize lifetime achievements, the award has been given to fewer than 100 New Jersey residents. It was named for the mechanic who built the engine used by the Wright brothers in their historic powered flight. Eligibility requirements are lofty. They include 50 or more years of civil and military maintenance experience.
Menier's clock started in 1968 when he joined the United States Air Force. The 72-year-old's fascination with aircraft nonetheless began far earlier. As a child, he built and flew model aircraft with his father, a diesel mechanic and Navy veteran who went to Aviation High School in Queens, New York. When winter hit, they would trek out onto the ice of Mount Glen Lakes and launch their wound-rubber or gas-fueled aircraft.
"It's hard to find flat areas around here and stuff without trees, so we had to wait until the lakes froze," he said."...
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