Not Just an Aviator

The sun dips down, inch by inch, toward the horizon. The brilliant colors, tints and hues change right before your eyes. First, you see the blazing red sky then it changes to a gentle orange, until finally, the colors melt into soft, wispy lavenders. Airport sunsets are art galleries in motion, and airports are where you’ll find Mark Edmonds. Whether it was overseas in England or in the Mojave Desert of Edwards Air Force Base in southern California, he was there, but those are days long gone now. Those were the days of tank-busting A-10’s and T-38 Trainers.
These days you’ll find Mark at the Shelby Regional Airport working on and flying single-engine Cessna 172’s. He has traded the glory of working on Air Force jets for the thrill of piloting the little Cessna Skyhawk. Mark is an aircraft mechanic with years of experience under his belt, in both military and general aviation, but he is also a pilot. He says that getting his pilot’s license was a big day for him. He joined the Air Force to become a fighter pilot but never quite accomplished that dream; however, he did become a pilot. Mark says, “Being a pilot makes you a better mechanic, and being a mechanic makes you a better pilot.”
Mark is an attractive, stocky, slightly graying man, who is nearing middle age. Whether he’s in his tattered work gear or his brown leather pilot’s jacket, Mark carries himself with pride. He takes what he does very seriously and doesn’t distinguish between being a mechanic or a pilot. Both aspects of his job are important.
Sometimes, he’s the aircraft mechanic, who reeks of hydraulic fluid and aviation gas, as he climbs in and out of the stripped-out belly of an airplane. With his hands blackened from the oil and grease, he reaches for his cell phone as he hears the “air-ratchet” ring tone. As he answers in his trade-mark fashion, “Hello, this is Mark”, he exudes the confidence that is so important to the aircraft owner on the other end of the phone. It’s all in a day’s work for the Director of Maintenance at Compass 21, Inc.
Other times, though, this strong, quiet man, just needs to get away. At the end of the day, he walks out across the ramp, wearing his leather pilot’s jacket and sunglasses, and heads towards the little Cessna. He does his walk around, and he checks the plane for safety. He carefully moves his rough, worn hands across the skin of the plane. Everything checks out, and he’s good to go.
It may not be an Air Force fighter jet, but the beautiful artwork high above the Shelby airfield, with its stunning array of colors, is reward enough. For Mark, there’s nothing quite like seeing an airport sunset from the sky. As for me, there’s nothing quite like seeing an airport sunset with my husband, the aviator mechanic, because he’s not just an aviator to me.
By Tina Edmonds