July/August 2023 - 22

40 UNDER 40
AJ Silva
Chief Technical Officer / Co-Founder,
Legacy Warbirds LLC
Age: 31
Hometown: Carson City, Nevada
Years in the industry: 13
Favorite thing about aviation: Community.
AJ Silva is committed to the preservation of aviation history and
continued safety of modern aircraft.
Legacy Warbirds, founded in 2013, is managed by Silva, Chris
Stern and Matt Walsh to provide a turnkey solution for people
interested in owning a warbird. Today, Legacy Warbirds also provides
contract training to the military, and brokers lease and
sales agreements for larger aircraft and fleets.
Silva moved to North Carolina in 2013 to assist Walsh with
developing an aircraft management program for his corporate
aviation company: Elite Aircraft Services (EAS). In 2014 Elite
Aircraft Maintenance (EAM) was formed as a Cirrus service center
to support EAS-managed aircraft. Today, EAM also services
aircraft of outside customers. Silva worked for EAM concurrently
with EAS until 2019 as the shop manager and continues to assist.
This year, Silva became the DOM for North Star Aero Services,
a Part 135 charter.
www.AviationPros.com/53065803
Ryan Shepherd
Chief Executive Officer,
Victory Lane Aviation
Age: 30
Hometown: Lynchburg, Virginia / Athens, Greece
Years in the industry: 10
Favorite thing about aviation: Variety.
Ryan Shepherd became the CEO of Victory Lane Aviation at age
28. " There's a lot of people that would chalk it up to coincidence
or the right place at the right time, which has a lot to do with
it, " he said. " But, in summation, it's probably more of just God's
plan and not mine. "
Before joining Victory Lane Aviation in 2019, Shepherd worked
for a variety of charter companies. Working in AOG, he said, " I
think that would probably be singlehandedly what kind of condensed
my timeline to where I am today. "
Shepherd studied management and has a Bachelor of Science in
aviation maintenance and management from Liberty University.
He has taken Victory Lane Aviation, once a flight school with
a small repair shop, and grown the company to include AOG
response, aircraft management, aircraft sales, avionics upgrades,
flight instruction in multiple locations, pilot services, and MRO
services in various locations.
www.AviationPros.com/53065957
Timothy A. Smith
Challenger Operations Supervisor,
Bombardier Business Aircraft
- Hartford
Age: 36
Hometown: New Vienna, Ohio
Years in the industry: 15
Favorite thing about aviation: The constantly changing environment.
Timothy A. Smith is a go-to person for Bombardier's Challenger
program. What does he enjoy most about his work? " The constant
change from not knowing what I'm going to be doing from day
to day. " He references " the hustle and bustle " and says, " There's
always something to do, " which has led him to look at the opportunities
and tools to improve operational efficiencies. One of those
tools is IBM Maximo for Aviation, which allows efficient scheduling
and management of aircraft maintenance.
As a mentor, Smith isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He says,
" If you really take your gloves off and work next to people, it shows
them nothing's below management and you can fully understand
where the team needs assistance. "
Smith has a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management from
Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and an A&P through
CT Aero Tech.
www.AviationPros.com/53065958
Tucker Johnson
Aircraft Mechanic IV, Lynden Air Cargo
Age: 23
Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska
Years in the industry: 4
Favorite thing about aviation: Ongoing learning
opportunities.
By learning how to repair propellers, Tucker Johnson, Aircraft
Mechanic IV, saved Lynden Air Cargo over $100,000. After training
from PPI Technical Services taught him how to repair 54H60
propellers, Lynden Air Cargo started doing the work in-house.
Johnson started at Lynden Air Cargo as an apprentice while
in the University of Alaska Anchorage airframe and powerplant
program. With his A&P certificate attained, Johnson became
the youngest aircraft mechanic at Lyndon Air Cargo to receive
company authorizations for run and taxi as well as RII (required
inspection items) for the Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules (L-382G).
He also attended an engine run and taxi CAE course in Florida,
and he's not done learning yet.
Chosen to be the flight mechanic for some unique charter missions,
he said, " I never thought that I would be flying with a plane
with vaccines or hauling water out to a village. It's just kind of
mind-blowing, even humbling. " And, in a word, " amazing. "
www.AviationPros.com/53065959
22 JULY/AUGUST 2023
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
http://www.AviationPros.com/53065803 http://www.AviationPros.com/53065957 http://www.AviationPros.com/53065958 http://www.AviationPros.com/53065959
July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2023
