John's attention to detail, and his work experience on the Shuttle program have been evident from the start. For instance, when he asked how long to stir a batch of epoxy resin, I answered "twice as long as you think you need to". John replied, "Well at NASA, we had to mix the epoxy on the heat tiles for 3 minutes", to which I replied, "OK with me to do it the NASA way!".
I'll let John introduce himself to you:
I went to Florida Institute of Technology (now Florida Tech) and graduated with an A.S. in Flight Technology where I also earned my Commerical, Instrument, and Multi-Engine ratings. After graduating, I was picked up by Lockheed Space Operations to work as a TPS technician on the Space Shuttle heat tiles and blankets, then as an electrical technician on the orbiter's payload bay, a lead technician overseeing a crew of 15 techs, and finally as a Space Craft Operator where I worked on the flight decks of Altantis, Discovery, and Endeavour controlling and monitoring the orbiter's systems during testing, launch, and landing operations. I've crawled through just about every compartment of the orbiters doing mods, repair work, and testing.
While earning a B.A. in Organizational Management, I ended my 22 year career at KSC in 2010 where I went to work for Lockheed Martin as an aerostat field engineer in Afghanistan supporting our troops in the field by providing overwatch for them.
I currently work as an operations engineer for LM on the PTDS program and jumped at the chance to be around airplanes again when Jim called me earlier this year to work with him.
The Phoenix is a great airplane and I look forward to being a part of this organization and meeting all our customers in the near future.
