2022 AMT 40 Under 40 Maintenance Professionals: Jake Stauffer, Shop Foreman, Skytech Inc.

Jake Stauffer grew up in a family of mechanics. His grandfather, Glenn, worked on cars, and instilled the passion in Stauffer’s father, Daniel, who in turn taught it to him. Stauffer said their influence on him can’t be understated.

“My grandfather was a great car mechanic and he instilled that into my father, and we grew up working on cars. So, I was going to go automotive maintenance,” recalled Stauffer.

Instead, Stauffer found the aviation industry could offer him more.

"What I love about aviation is it’s never the same thing every day. I love the troubleshooting. I like getting my brain into it and learning the systems. There’s not a lot of repetition – it’s always something different or something new and just constantly learning,” he said.

Stauffer started at Skytech as a line service technician while he was completing his education in aviation maintenance. Upon moving into the maintenance department, Stauffer continued to show a desire to learn and quickly gained confidence in his mechanical skills. In six short years, he steadily progressed through the ranks from mechanic to team lead. He also pursued and obtained his IA. Lastly, he has been key in the development of Skytech’s PC-24 Service Center.    

Stauffer said that more people should consider joining the aviation field as the opportunities are nearly endless.

“You can go anyway, like you could go into avionics, sheet metal, you could, you could just be changing tires. If you can turn a wrench, there's really a spot for anyone in aviation and the more you get your head in it, the more you grow and the further you can take it,” he said.