A grade-school fascination with model airplanes fueled a lifelong passion for Jason Timm.

He rescued a model plane from the garbage and soldered and spliced the craft back to flight-ready status. Turns out, he has made a career of keeping planes airworthy after completing the Aviation and Maintenance Technology (AMT) program at Canadian Valley Technology Center.

Timm, 48, of Union City, now serves as a structural section chief at Tinker Air Force Base. He oversees technicians responsible for major structural repairs and modifications for airborne warning and control system aircraft (or AWACS). These planes feature a large, mounted round radar disc, which help identify and track enemy and friendly aircraft and naval vessels.

CV Tech’s AMT program is endorsed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Students develop a broad knowledge of aircraft systems through advanced installation, overhauling and testing procedures in preparation to take the worldwide recognized Airframe and Powerplant (or A&P) licensure exam.

ALTERED FLIGHT PATH
Timm said several people were influential in molding his love of aircraft, including former CV Tech instructor Edsel Ford. Timm said he and Ford often flew model airplanes at lunchtime and after school.

Timm still uses the skills he acquired to repair non-military aircraft through a small company he founded in 2009 called ProAMMS.

“We perform annual inspections and general maintenance for small, single and twin, reciprocating-engine aircraft,” he said.

Timm no longer flies model aircraft. Now he flies for real.

“I attained my private pilot license about 1994,” he said. “It is strictly for pleasure.”

FINAL APPROACH
He hopes the future might include an opportunity for him to give back even more to the aviation industry, which is the second largest statewide (trailing only energy) with an estimated $44 billion annual economic impact, according to information provided by the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics.

“I will consider teaching aviation maintenance,” he said. “My passion is really passing on what I’ve learned in aviation maintenance.”

Timm recently loaned his skills as a judge for the state Skills USA contest in Tulsa. He said Career Tech has branded him for life.

“Overall, the program taught me far more about myself and the things I could achieve than it did the indispensable aviation knowledge was intended to teach,” he said. “The experience and value of CV Tech goes far beyond the basic curriculum offered.”

Timm began his career as a structural mechanic at Wylie Post Airport in Bethany. He later worked as a post dock mechanic at Tinker on KC-135 aircraft before working at Mooney Service Center. Mooney is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Kerrville, Texas, which manufactures single-engine, piston-powered general aviation planes. He’s worked at Tinker for the past 15 years.