A high school tennis coach introduced Patrick Reed to aviation. When Reed said he didn’t know what he wanted to do after high school, his coach told him he was going to be an airplane mechanic, an occupation Reed hadn’t considered. His father was a diesel mechanic, and his mother was a teacher.
Reed liked the idea of working in aviation. He graduated from Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with an associate degree in 2003, a time when aviation jobs were difficult to find. He had signed up for the four-year program but was offered a job with Aero Ways Inc. at New Castle Airport (ILG) in Delaware. The company at the time had four Challenger 601s and a Falcon 50. Reed worked for Aero Ways for about five years and obtained his IA. When XOJET moved into the hangar next door, Aero Ways assisted XOJET and Reed was assigned to help with line maintenance. As XOJET expanded, Reed was offered a position working on Citation Xs and Challenger 300s. He worked there a couple of years until XOJET closed that location.
He then started working for Dassault Falcon Jet as a line maintenance technician, worked his way up to crew chief and was named rookie of the year.
“Out of the blue,” he got a phone call, which led to him working for Tekloc Enterprises as director of maintenance on a G450 for about five years. Once that aircraft was sold, he began employment with Exelon Corporation as a flight technician, where he worked for about three and a half years.
Then, he got another unexpected call, which lead to him working as a flight technician on a Dassault Falcon 900 for Equus Capital, and plans are underway for Reed to become director of maintenance when the current director retires.
“I just had a really blessed career, a lot of really good opportunities, and it’s been an awesome journey so far,” he said.
A lot of people don’t realize aviation maintenance is an opportunity, he said.
“It’s such an interesting career – every day is something different,” he said.
Reed and his wife have four children. All four want to get their pilot’s license and two have already made their first flights.
