Airframe Components

KENDALLVILLE, Ind. (21Alive) -- People who own their own aircraft can be a picky lot, so when something happens to their plane, more often than not, they steer toward a cornfield in Kendallville, Indiana, where the craftsmen at Airframe Components can get it wheels up once again.

It's kind of surreal, walking into the Airframe Components  facility in rural Noble County. Like a model airplane store…except the planes are real. The company was started in 1980 and has grown into a worldwide business.

" We have a reputation as being the number one shop in the world specifically for wing and control service rebuilding," owner Roy Williams says.

The shop is an FAA and EASA certified repair shop where they fixed damaged wings, and tails and flaps and send parts all over the world. It's a very specific demographic and the employees here are well-trained craftsmen who know their work will speak for itself.

"And this is something I stress to my employees every day…we are going to get a reputation whether it's good or bad…and at that point it's mostly word of mouth advertising that generates our growth," Williams says.

Nathan Whetzel, Foreman says that "Typically it takes a good year to train somebody to be able to rivet. What we do here, you have to start out doing it. You have to be trained on the job because there is a specific way you need to hold a rivet gun, a way that you need to hold a bucking bar in together and knowing how to feather a trigger on a rivet gun…."

" Each of these employees is a craftsman. This is something that you just don't learn every day in school or at a college. This is something that has to be developed over time," Williams says.

Something else that has been developed over time….a love for aviation in Roy's three daughters. The eldest is a freshman at the Naval Academy in aeronautical engineering. She flies and helped Roy refurbish her own plane. 15 year old Daughter number two will get this 1969 Piper when they finish restoring it. And the 13 year old will also fix up and get her own aircraft.

In addition to repairing wings and control units, the company carries more inventory than any other facility, including some aircraft manufacturers. There's a cost to that…but it gives the company a competitive advantage. Many aircraft owners want their own parts back though, all fixed up. As with people who own their own boats and car buffs, they become attached to the thing…almost like it's a member of the family.

"Sometimes it becomes an emotional connection to that aircraft," Williams says.

"It's their baby and they trust us to making sure that it comes back 100 percent new."

Story and video:  http://www.21alive.com