CHARLES CITY, Iowa — The president of Charles City Aeronautics, which does business under the name North Iowa Air Service in Mason City and Charles City, Iowa, has been awarded the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.
The FAA’s Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is named for Charles Taylor, the mechanic who is credited with building the engine that the Wright brothers used in their first airplane. It is awarded to senior aviation mechanics with over 50 years of experience in the industry.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this award from the FAA,” said William R. “Bill” Kyle. “I started in this business over 50 years ago cleaning the grease off of the bottoms of airplanes, and am now blessed with two thriving FBOs and a hard-working staff that I am extremely proud of.”
Bill becomes the third mechanic from Charles City Aeronautics to win this award, following in the footsteps of Ben Cordes and his own father, Lyle Kyle. Lyle and Bill are the first father-son duo in the state of Iowa to receive this award.
Bill Kyle began his aviation career on June 1, 1966, as a line boy at the Charles City Airport. He earned his private pilot license in 1968 while still attending high school. While working for the airport on weekends, Bill received an Associates’ Degree in Marketing from NIACC in Mason City, Iowa, in 1970, and an Associates’ Degree in Aviation Maintenance from Hawkeye Institute of Technology in Waterloo in 1972. He returned to Charles City Aeronautics full-time in May 1972 as an Airframe and Power Plant (A&P) mechanic.
From 1973 to 1998, Bill worked his way up through the company, earning many certifications and awards throughout his career, including his commercial pilot’s license in 1973 and FAA Inspection Authorization in 1975. In 1982, Bill took over as manager of the Charles City Airport.
Upon the death of his father Lyle in 1998, Bill became president of the company. Bill is also a FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR), certifying airplanes all across the country; a Director of the Iowa Public Airports Association; and a past president of the Iowa Aviation Business Association.
