Jon Marple's dad, Jack Marple, was instrumental in his son choosing an aviation career. Marple's dad was a Northwest airline pilot, US Air Force pilot and would take Marple to the Minneapolis Saint Paul international airport, MSP ANG guard base growing up. "I was intrigued by the aviation industry at a very young age," Marple explained. "My dad, has been an inspiration as he served for 27 years as a pilot in the Air Force and is a retired Delta 767 captain."
Marple followed in his father's footsteps closely, as he served as a KC-135 crew chief for 13 years with multiple overseas deployments with the US Air Force. Other jobs along the way have included Mesa Airlines E175 Captain, Flexjet Challenger 350 pilot, and he currently flies at JSX in the E-145 and work at Classic Air Aviation as a general aviation mechanic servicing Cessna and Piper training aircraft.
Kacie Busch, Operations Manager, Classic Air Aviation
"I’ve worked with Jon going on 10 years now and have been constantly impressed with his work ethic, aviation knowledge, leadership abilities along with his mechanical skills," mentioned Kacie Busch, operations manager and Classic Air Aviation, and Marple's nominator. "Depending on our needs, Jon has been apart of both the flight and maintenance department at Classic Air Aviation and has transformed both departments in their own way. Although, he’s always had a hand in working within our maintenance department, it wasn’t until COVID-19 hit last year that we were faced with restructuring our entire flight school." Busch says Marple really stepped up, made the hard decisions that were needed, and completely restructured and turned around the maintenance department.
He has successfully implemented new policy and procedures, personnel changes, managed shop and tool upgrades and restructured the inspection procedures to improve the quality of work, while at the same time decreasing aircraft down time.
"Without a doubt, Jon is the reason Classic Air Aviation has made the comeback that we have," noted Busch. "Whether he is working on aircraft, managing and leading other personnel or improving company processes, Jon is one of the greatest assets our company has. I can say without hesitation that we as a company are so proud to see our maintenance department improve and become a successful shop in the area, and we truly owe this to Jon."
As for future goals, Marple says they are to complete his Inspection Authorization certification, continue to grow Classic Air Aviation's maintenance shop and eventually fly for United, Southwest or Delta air lines.
