2010 NATIONAL AMT OF THE YEAR

Neil Nederfield
of Fairfield, New Jersey, has been an airframe and powerplant (A&P) technician for 45 years and has held inspection authorization (IA) for 15 of those years.  Neil and his son Sean own C & W Aero Services, an FAA Certified Repair Station, located at Essex County Airport (CDW) in Caldwell, New Jersey.

A four-year tour in the United States Navy launched this Viet Nam veteran's career in aviation maintenance.  Neil attended schools for aviation airframe sheet metal and paint corrosion control and then served with VA72 aboard aircraft carriers from 1965 to 1969 working on Douglas A-4 Skyhawks.  After an honorable discharge as a Petty Officer 2nd Class, he continued to work in aviation maintenance.  Following ten years of employment at C & W Electronics, Neil became the owner and manager of C & W Aero Services at Essex County Airport in 1983.  

C & W Aero Services ( http://CWAero.com/) is a fixed base operation and FAA Certified Repair Station specializing in aircraft modifications, painting, annual / 100-hour inspections, avionics installations, and heavy sheet metal repairs.  They are also a factory authorized service center for Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, Mooney Airplane Company, and New Piper Aircraft as well as most major avionics manufacturers.  Neil and his son Sean are co-owners of the company while their wives, Gail & Jennifer respectively, share the responsibilities for office management.  C & W Aero employs 11 full time and two part time workers.

An average day for Neil begins at 0500 Eastern Time in an effort to beat the Interstate-80 traffic on his 40-mile commute to the shop.  After breakfast at a local diner, he opens the shop at about 0630.  His staff of seven full time mechanics and one avionics repariman generates a great deal of paperwork in the form of work orders, logbook entries, weight & balance calculations, and Forms 337.  When he's lucky, the workday ends around 1600.

In the evenings and on weekends, Neil spends time with various volunteer groups or down in his basement with his model trains.  As a lead representative for the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) in the Teterboro area, he both hosts and presents safety programs for pilots and mechanics.  He has been a member of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) since 1989 and has served as director and FAA liason for the PAMA board of directors since 1992.  For the past ten years, he has organized and hosted an annual IA renewal for PAMA.  Neil also serves as an advisory board member for the Teterboro School of Aeronautics.

Nederfield (NNed@CWAero.com) represented the Teterboro FSDO as well as the FAA's Eastern Region.  This year's other regional AMT winners include JoAnn ARNOLD of Blytheville, AR (FAA's Southwest Region); Hatton Nicholas BATSON of Cordova, TN (FAA's Central Region); Darrell Eugene BOLDUC of Ham Lake, MN (FAA's Great Lakes Region); Joseph MORALES of Lakewood, CO (FAA's Northwest Mountain Region); Marlin Jerome PRIEST of Hoover, AL (FAA's Southern Region); and Gerald Wayne ROSE of Grass Valley, CA (FAA's Western Pacific Region).   (Attached photo: 2010 Nat'l Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year Neil Nederfield of Fairfield, NJ)