Kevin Stolarski and his brother during a test flight they took with College of Aviation Fleet Maintenance Technician, Rusty Winston
Kevin Stolarski is now in "The Major Leagues" as an aviation technician for United Airlines, but like any good baseball player, he expanded his skills and knowledge during stints in "the minors."
A December 2017 graduate of the WMU College of Aviation with a degree in aviation maintenance technology, Stolarski jumped right into the workforce after earning his A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration, joining the SkyWest Airlines team at Chicago's O'Hare International airport -- one of the regional operation's 11 hubs in North America.
"It quickly became apparent," Stolarski says, "that I was going to be doing this for the rest of my life. I learned a lot of my commercial-airline A&P basics there. At Western, I had been dealing mostly with reciprocating and limited-turbo engines. Going strictly to turbines was a huge learning curve."
Accompanying that growth was an awareness about his chosen profession: "Everyone is always willing to help as long as you are willing to learn." At SkyWest, he says, "I met some friends with whom I will stay in contact no matter what airlines we are at."
Stolarski working at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) for Gama Aviation
After about a year, Gama Aviation began signing Stolarski's paychecks because he wanted to sample the work environment in corporate aviation. Involved in business, charter and aircraft management globally, Gama hired him for its operations at Midway International Airport in central Chicago. "This is where I honed what I had learned at SkyWest," he says about his two-year sojourn with Gama. "Corporate aviation is definitely a different ballgame and has unique aspects and documentation. I really enjoyed working on extremely clean and well-taken-care-of airplanes. Among the tricks of the trade was learning to work outside instead of being in a hangar."
Like with a professional ball player, something was drawing him back to commercial aviation -- a shot at "the show," the "majors." This lure led Stolarski to a six-month stay with Spirit Airlines, the Florida-headquartered, low-cost company that assigned him to its operations at O'Hare. "Although I was only there for six months," he says, "it became my great stepping stone. It was my chance to deal with larger-than-regional-sized aircraft -- Spirit's fleet of Airbus 320s. I learned how advanced these planes were."
And when placed on his technical resume, it's what qualified him for "The Big Leagues." Stolarski joined United in 2021 at its O'Hare hub. "That's every A&Ps dream," he says. "I've worked around the United hangar and at the terminal. I have multiple fleet-type releases and I am engine-run qualified on multiple fleet types as well."
Less than five years earlier, he was a summer intern at the College of Aviation helping to maintain its squadron of Cirrus SR-20s. Etched in his book of Bronco memories is the day when Rusty Winton, an aviation maintenance inspector, needed a "co-pilot" for a test flight. Destination? The Grand Haven airport that serves the Lake Michigan shoreline community where Stolarski had graduated from high school in 2014. His family was there to greet the duo.
Stolarski's first night on the maintenance floor with SkyWest Airlines
"I will never forget how beautiful the weather was that day," he recalls, "and how awesome the flight was. I was pretty nervous on landing because he came in a way that I had never experienced before."
The Cirrus received a warm welcome for another reason. Stolarski's parents and several other family members are Western alumni, which is why he chose the WMU College of Aviation. In addition to the quality and reputation of the program, it was "a hop and skip away from home whenever I needed it."
Mom Stolarski is credited with son Kevin's choice of a career. "Not because she was in aviation but more out of curiosity about a profession," he says. "I was working on bicycles during high school and always enjoyed working with my hands. She suggested becoming a pilot, but I wasn't a fan of that. When she suggested aviation maintenance, that rang a bell. After my first semester in aviation technology, I couldn't get enough of it."
If he needed any reinforcement about whether he had made the right decision, a summer class co-taught by Jeremy Hierholzer and Raymond Thompson, now dean of the College of Aviation, made it a "no-doubter." "Something about applying everything we learned and putting it all together in a summer-long course made it so much fun. We would have our serious times for getting the work done, and there were days when we would go around the aviation campus trying to find new projects to work on. We classmates still talk about that to this day."
Joining this duo as "favorite instructors" are Gail Rouscher and Eric Baldwin. "They know how to make a class enjoyable while teaching in an understandable way," Stolarski says. "They keep up with what I am doing in my career. It's the small things like that that make them great in what they do."
During his time at Spirit Airlines, Stolarski returned to his alma mater during Aviation Outlook Day to help recruit new technicians
Recently retired aviation dean David Powell also has a place on his Mount Rushmore of Western notables. He warmly remembers conversation with Powell, who brought to the academic world his record as a pilot for United and the U.S. Air Force. "His experience in aviation is infectious. I applaud everything he did for the aviation campus. He truly created a welcoming environment."
When he was not playing Mr. Goodwrench for the WMU fleet, Stolarski, as a member of Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity, was a serious proponent of its mission to promote scholarship, leadership, honorable athletics and civility. "It has had a huge impact on my life and helped me grow as a person. We were taught not only to give back to the community," he says, but to be aware of the contributions and sacrifices that wounded military veterans have made to the nation.
While the experience "helped me grow into the man I have become in my professional life," he says, there were social aspects to enjoy -- such as being part of Western history when P. J. Fleck's Bronco football team took its undefeated record to the Cotton Bowl and a game against the University of Wisconsin. The Bronco "turnout" was "unforgettable," Stolarski says. He credits his fraternal allegiances with teaching him "the value of hard work, being able to rely on your closest friends, and being able to be the best you can be at your job."
Feuling the perspective of doing the best job possible is the aspect of loving what one does. "One of the best things," he says, "is the feeling that coming into work will be nothing like the previous day. That keeps you on your toes, and I enjoy that. Another positive is that I can make a customer's day if I can get a plane fixed and ready to go on time. It's very rewarding to know that you can directly assist someone's travel plans, making sure they can arrive safely and on time. There is also the thrill of working on some of the biggest and newest planes on the planet."
The Spirit Airlines hangar in Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) when Stolarski was there for his Airbus training
The other side of that coin, he says, is "the hectic times when multiple planes are out of service and, because of outside factors, there is nothing that can immediately be done. It's frustrating to know what needs to be done to fix the plane, but the part is not readily available, the tooling isn't available, or the manpower is lacking. That shortage is rearing its ugly face right now, and won't go away until the demand for more A&Ps is met."
Stolarski believes he is doing his part to address this kind of shortage. To deliver the message that aviation mechanics are direly needed, he has taken part in the WMU Aviation Outlook Day. His words ring true -- if you have the mechanical skills and the outlook to constantly work toward becoming more proficient, there will also be an employment opportunity in this phase of aviation. "I don't mind dedicating my time to build an awareness for the need for more A&Ps. It is rewarding seeing people whom I have helped advance in this career. I have represented United at these events. I am all for getting anyone in the door to a major airline, and not have to do the regional route to gain experience as I did."
How about this anecdote as a selling point? Technician Solarski took "a road trip" for United to repair a Boeing 737 in Grand Rapids. Once air-worthy, it was flown back to Chicago's O'Hare. Except for the pilots, he was the lone passenger.
The jobs are out there and they are rewarding, but there are other "perks" for being affiliated with an airline. "Being able to fly standby for next to nothing," he says, "is a privilege and has allowed me to travel to some amazing places. Such as Aruba. I love anything tropical. I don't think I ever stop smiling when I am there -- amazing beaches, snorkeling, traditional Dutch food, freshly caught fish, the works."
Because of a United "perk" called "open search," Stolarski can access flights leaving Chicago that have "the most open seats. Pick where you want to go and hop on," which he does just about every other weekend. Because an employee's parents and relatives can enjoy these benefits, Stolarski has become something of the family's travel agent.
"All in all," he says, "aviation has been amazing for me and I wouldn't change a single thing to get where I am today. It's clear skies ahead and I'm ready to take off for the rest of my aviation career."
And he certainly would like to take a few youthful A&Ps with him.