Wichita native Ken Beckwith

Mission Cessna

Ken Beckwith is a hometown boy made good. A native of Wichita, Kansas, Beckwith has grown with Cessna and achieved a level of success that many dream of. He is currently the general manager of Cessna's Wichita Citation Service Center. Soon he will move his operation into the new mammoth facility that will have its grand opening in December in Wichita (see Aviation Maintenance, November 2004, page 10).

Beckwith, bespectacled with a boyish face that belies his age, began his career in the U. S. Navy during the Viet Nam war era. On the day he graduated from basic training, assignments were being handed out. "I watched as the person standing to my left and to my right were chosen as helicopter machine gun operators." The odds of surviving Viet Nam in that position were slim, he said. Because he had some machine shop experience, he was assigned as an aviation machinist's mate. He was sent to Naval Air Station Lemoore, California and trained to be a plane captain. "The plane captain services the aircraft, cleans it, and preflights it," said Beckwith. Later on, he was tested and found to have an affinity for understanding jet engines. He was transferred to an engine shop and then to Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida for more specialized training on engines. In another assignment he was sent on board the U.S.S. Forrestal for a cruise to the Mediterranean.

Beckwith was in the service until 1972. As he approached his last few months in the military, he realized that he would need an A & P certificate in the civilian world and he began to research schools. He chose Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma and used VA benefits to finance his studies. With his freshly minted A & P certificate he applied for a job at Cessna in his hometown of Wichita.

Initially he was offered a job on the assembly line at the Pawnee plant. "I told them, I really want to fix planes, not build them," he said and he passed on that opportunity. He drove the circuit in Wichita, applying with Beech, Yingling, and even at companies further out in Tulsa, all the while working part time in mobile home sales.

Jobs for A & Ps were hard to come by but as the business jet age began to come into its own, Cessna finally came through with an offer (the only offer he got) as a Grade 7 helper for $3.50 an hour. Beckwith said they told him that they wanted to give the opportunity to a local person from Wichita. Having only worked on military aircraft, the industrious Beckwith raced to the library to research the Citation jets he would be working on.

"Cessna was and is a great place to work," Beckwith said. "I was the third A & P hired for the service center. I progressed quickly to a Grade 5, 3, 1 and then to lead supervisor. After that I was the quality control manager. This company gives people all kinds of opportunities." He continued to progress up the ranks working at other Citation service centers in New York and Califorrnia, until he became the general manager of the Wichita service center, the position he holds today.

Beckwith said that Cessna is extremely supportive of family life and always encouraged him to be available for his children's sports and after-school activities. "Anytime my kids had an event, my boss said go, no questions asked," he said but added that sometimes he found himself back at the facility after the event.

Beckwith makes no excuses for the fact that he does not have a college degree and doesn't let others make excuses either. "I tell people if I can do it, you can do it," he said. "What you need to have is the attitude and willingness to help customers, to go the extra mile, and help the company succeed."

Beckwith, calm, centered, and serious, said his biggest challenge as general manager of the Wichita service center is to ensure that his employees understand their mission statement. "Not only understanding it, but fulfilling it," he added. "It takes drive and dedication and not being satisfied with just being okay."

He believes that his customers are more likely to forgive a late-delivered aircraft if it is fixed correctly. "Customers are less likely to forgive you if there are problems after delivery," he said. "The customer is number one."
-- By Joy Finnegan