If you were laying out your career as an aircraft maintenance manager, you would be doing okay if you were using Mike Fitzgerald's resume as your roadmap. He earned his A&P in 1979 and soon after moved to Texas to take a job with Tenneco Oil's flight department as a line mechanic. He was quickly promoted to a lead mechanic in the company's engine shop working on TFE731s. From there he was again promoted to a flight engineer.

When the oil boom went bust, Fitzgerald found himself out of work, but he soon found a job as the engine shop manager for Airwork. "I virtually ran the Houston service center," he said. "The main office was in New Jersey, so I was pretty much working independently and that taught me a lot."

In 1993, Fitzgerald left Airwork and joined Stevens Aviation in Greenville, South Carolina. He came to Stevens as an engine shop manager with "aspirations." "When I came to Stevens to run the engine shop, my hope was that I wouldn't be doing it for the rest of my life," he said. "I guess I wanted to be where I am now--the director of maintenance for Stevens."

Fitzgerald said the fulfillment of his aspirations didn't just happen. In his 11 years with the company he has been able to work his way up through the ranks by taking on, and succeeding at, jobs with increasing responsibilities and expectations. For example, he was put in charge of maintenance for the company's charter fleet--an operation that had seen its share of, shall we say, maintenance issues.

"The FAA used to visit that operation almost weekly," he said. "Now we may see them twice a year. In fact, the FAA now directs other Part 135 maintenance departments to come see how it should be done. I'm very proud of that."

Along with overseeing the maintenance on the charter aircraft, he was also made one of the project managers responsible for overseeing a customer's aircraft that comes in for major work like paint, interior, avionics upgrades, maintenance, and engine overhauls. "As a project manager I was responsible for everything that was happening to that aircraft," he explained. "That responsibility, in combination with my experience as the DOM for the Part 135 operation, has taught me an awful lot about meeting a variety of customers' wants, needs, and desires."

And that experience is serving him well in his new position as the company's director of maintenance--a job that allows him to call on all of the training and experience he has received during his career. "I've spent time working for a corporate operator, in an engine overhaul facility, and now for a large FBO," he said. "I've been a technician, a customer, and a vendor. I've seen all the different aspects of our business and now I pride myself in being able to use all that experience to help my customers get the work they need done on time and on budget."

While his rapid rise up the career ladder may seem fast, Fitzgerald attributes much of it to his belief that when an opportunity comes along it's up to you to step up to the plate and show you deserve it. "I've always believed that I want to be promoted based on my merit and not on my length of tenure with a company," he said. "I just believe that if I earn something I will ultimately get it."

That dedication to earning what he gets has helped Fitzgerald excel in his hobby, racing drag bikes. "I've been riding motorcycles since A&P school and after moving to Stevens I started riding a Harley," he explained. "I was looking for a new challenge and drag racing presented an opportunity to use my technical creativity while applying my passion for making things better.

"As a manager and now director of maintenance, I don't have many opportunities to use wrenches at work, so working on my drag bike keeps me connected to the issues facing technicians every day," Fitzgerald added. "The skills and responsibilities are complementary--quality and workmanship on the bike and the airplane is king."

Fitzgerald recently won the All Harley Drag Racing Association's Super Sport division at Maryland International Raceway. "My quickest E.T. [elapsed time] is 9.98 seconds and my fastest speed is 133 mile per hour," he said. "Of course, I didn't start out racing at those speeds, but you get quicker as you apply yourself, learn more, and talk to people." Sort of the same way you create a successful career.

-- By Dale Smith