Devan Fronk said he is following in the footsteps of his father, who has been an aircraft mechanic his entire life.
“When I was younger, we went up to visit my dad at work. I was probably 7 or 8 and we got to go out and taxi around with him on one of the airplanes he was fixing. They had to go out and do high-powered runs and stuff like that. So I was hooked ever since then. That kind of led me to where I am today and just being 8 years old and getting to ride on a private jet was amazing,” Fronk recalled
Fronk joined the industry straight out of high school at 18, first apprenticing with Constant Aviation’s interior shop, then going to school at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) – where he received his A&P
“It’s a great career. The opportunities that are there and the places you can go and travel to are endless. It’s a great job,” Fronk said. “It’s crazy to me how one day I could be working in Cleveland, where we live, to that afternoon, flying on a jet to go work on a plane in Tennessee or in Florida. I don’t think people realize that some days it’s just not a 9 to 5 and you clock in and clock out. It’s more of a lifestyle you have to live.”
Today, Fronk works for Sky Quest, a Part 135 aircraft charter and management company, where he manages a fleet of three Learjet 40s, and performs extensive maintenance on Beechjets, Hawkers, Challengers and a Gulfstream.
He also pass along his passion for the industry to others, often bringing in friends or their younger siblings for hangar tours and meetings with various mechanics to learn all the industry has to offer
“I would like to see more younger people getting into the industry. There's a lot of people that are getting ready to retire or are close to that point in their life, and there's not a whole lot of younger people getting involved with it. I know personally I’ve helped two or three younger people get started into the industry, so it would be cool to see some younger people get involved with it now while the experience is still there to learn from them and grow and get their feet in the door while the older, experienced people are still around,” he said.
