Bill Kendall, a 50-plus year aircraft maintenance technician who played a key role in establishing Greenville Technical College’s Aircraft Maintenance Technology program, was surprised yesterday with a ride on a vintage World War II P-51 Mustang aircraft, a model he maintained as a member of the United States Air Force in the 1950s. The ride celebrated Kendall’s long and distinguished aviation maintenance career.
Kendall spent three years as an Air Force mechanic working on the P51, the B25, the B29, the F86, the F80, and the F84. Upon his discharge from the military in 1953, he began a civilian career in aircraft maintenance that took him to Atlanta, Detroit, and Cleveland, working on DC-3s, 4s, 6s, and 7s, as well as Vickers Viscounts, Caravels, and Lockheed Constellations. Kendall earned his FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate in 1961.
From 1969 to the mid 1980s, Kendall worked outside of aircraft maintenance while still maintaining FAA currency in order to assist aircraft owners and operators with technical expertise and inspections. By 1985, he was working for Greenville Technical College teaching Industrial Maintenance Technology when he was asked to help establish the college’s Aircraft Maintenance Technology program. Located in an old World War II hangar at what is now the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center, the first class started in the fall of 1986. The need for technicians was real and the program grew, forcing the need for a new hangar. With his military and civilian aviation background, Kendall helped to design a new hangar to train future technicians to meet the aviation needs of the Upstate.
In the years that followed, Kendall served the program as recruiter, instructor, department head, lab assistant, and FAA Designated Maintenance Examiner (DME). In 36 years as a DME, he has administered over 1,400 oral and practical exams, certifying just over 900 technicians. Thirty years after starting the AMT program at Greenville Technical College, Kendall’s expertise is still being utilized as DME and mentor to instructors and lab assistants. As the college prepares to move into a joint use facility shared with the South Carolina Air National Guard, Kendall once again provided input and expertise to assist in the design process.
Last spring, Kendall received the Charles Taylor award from the Federal Aviation Administration. Named in honor of the man who served as mechanic for the Wright brothers, this award recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior mechanics.