Karl Rudser’s grandfather was a pilot in the air force and as a child always took him to air shows and to see planes. This is when he fell in love with aviation. When Rudser joined the Marines in 2002, he knew he wanted to do something with aviation and enlisted to be a helicopter crew chief.
After basic training, Rudser received introductory training on military aircraft and then advanced training on UH-1N, HH-1N Iroquois (“Huey”) and AH-1W and Cobra helicopters at the Marine Aviation Training Support Group (MATSG-23) in Pensacola, FL. He was attached to the HMLA-169 Vipers 3rd MAW, MAG-39, and learned more about the maintenance and operations of his squadron’s helicopters in the field, in preparation for deployment. He became a duel-qualified Plane Captain, Collateral Duty Inspector, and Quality Assurance Representative in his squadron. Rudser deployed with the Vipers for three deployments (a total of 28 months) to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
After his Honorable Discharge, Rudser further assisted the Marines by becoming a Technical Maintenance Contractor with PKL Services to support the development of a new squadron and help teach new technicians how to properly maintain AH-1W- and UH-1N aircraft. During this time, he started preparing to obtain his FAA A&P license. In 2011, while continuing to prepare for his A&P testing, Rudser moved into commercial aviation and accepted a position working at TIMCO Aviation Services in Lake City, FL. Within six months of receiving his A&P certificate, he was promoted to lead technician and given his own modification line – Wi-Fi installations on United Airlines’ Airbus A320 fleet, managing nine aircraft technicians.
In 2014, wanting new experiences and challenges, Rudser accepted a position with AAR Airlift in Melbourne, FL to rebuild and maintain a fleet of Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters for the vertical replenishment (VERTREP) contract with the US Navy. While at AAR, Rudser also became an inspector on the CASA C-212 Aviocar line. He managed a team of 18 maintenance technicians performing heavy maintenance, inspections with 100% QC buy-back and overhaul on the Puma, S-61 and the 212 fleets.
In 2016, Karl again decided to expand his knowledge and experience by accepting a position with Airgroup Dynamics in Orlando, FL. While there, he was an A&P technician and a quality control technician, performing component maintenance, repair, inspection and overhaul on a wide variety of commercial, corporate and general aviation components. In late 2016, he accepted a quality control lead inspector position with Vertical Aviation Technologies out of Sanford, FL. While there, he performed component build-up and maintenance, inspection and repair of Sikorsky S-52L, and S-52L Hummingbird helicopters. He performed inspection of manufactured components including gearboxes, rotor blades and structures. While at Vertical Aviation Technologies, Rudser established a Quality Control program for full FAA part 27 Primary Category Rotorcraft Certification. In May of 2018, he accepted an offer at Jet Aircraft Maintenance, Inc. to become the new Orlando station maintenance supervisor. His duties as include managing and scheduling his 16 technicians to support Jet’s 20-plus current customer’s fleets, and supporting other drop-in work as needed for KMCO air carriers.
As a “working supervisor” Rudser maintains AWR for various carriers with Airbus A320 family, A330 and Boeing B737 Max fleets. He also ensures customer training is current and documented per the carrier’s program. As the station quality rep, he is also responsible for hosting customer technical audits and correcting noted discrepancies, performing self-audits and ensuring the entire station maintains currency on the repair station and quality training.
Currently, Rudser is assisting with the development and roll out the new SMS program and updating the safety and TSA training for the repair station. Rudser is active with his local VFW chapter and several Marine Corp. charitable events
Rudser helps those coming up in the industry by sharing the knowledge he has with newer A&P mechanics and pushing for more training to advance them. “I encourage other veterans to advance their training and get their A&P certificate by guiding them through the process of using the military training to qualify for testing,” he explained. “My career goals are to advance farther into management through training and experience to possibly run a large MRO one day.”
