Long night at the airport again, some of my favorite memories..........

My very long overdue introduction to the BeechTalk community. This intro was originally planned to coincide with our website construction and BeechTalk sponsorship to immediately follow same. We have never had a proper website, mostly because folks like you don’t go shopping for services like ours until AFTER the accident. At that point, word of mouth and insurance adjusters requesting repair quotes have been more than sufficient to get our foot in the door. Well, the “troll” thread has prompted me to preempt my original plan with this long overdue intro.

I started my aviation career at Rich Mountain Aviation (RMA) here in Mena, on my 16th birthday in May 1986. I knew I would never go to college, so I enrolled in a high school course known then as CCE (Coordinated Career Education). It allowed me to get out of school at noon and go to work. It was a closely monitored activity, with the employer sending weekly reports on performance and monthly visits by the teacher of that course. RMA primarily did structural repairs and modifications to GA aircraft, and also government assets. RMA went out of business in February 1989, and the owner’s son and I formed a spinoff business, Intermountain Aviation, to collect the unfinished work from RMA. We dissolved that loose partnership in December of 1989.

I then went the contract route, working for various companies traveling all over these U.S. of A. performing structural work on everything from pond hoppers to smokers. This includes Midcoast LIT, Elsinore Airframe in Waco TX, Comair, Business Express, Express One, Mesaba, Mesa, Chataqua and more. When my son turned 2 years old, I gave that up and stayed home. I got my A&P in 1990/91. Also during this time I received Level II NDI Eddy Current and Liquid Penatrant Cert. I started June 1993 working out of the back of my truck back home here in Mena. In 1994 I landed a huge deal (unbeknownst to me at the time) by acquiring hangar space in Terry Capehart’s Ultimate Engines hangar. It was at this time I began DBA Mountain Airframe Services. I did a lot of work for Terry in exchange for free rent (and a special reduced rate to Terry ). I had space for one plane, a small work room, an office, and finally got a telephone. I had previously worked with a pager. I owe a lot to Terry, although he and I never realized at the time what this would become. I met many great customers during that time, and Terry wanted me to deal with the airframe work. So, I began communicating with customers directly. This is where the business really took off. I still have customer relations with many of those folks to this day.

Terry sold Ultimate Engines in 1996. I move out of that hangar into another, and I incorporated in November 1996. I had 4 employees at that time, and that was my average up until 2013. I got my IA in 2002. There have been many ups and downs since then. I’ve been involved in 2 joint ventures with other local operators. Neither of those lasted very long. Mountain Airframe has existed since 1994. The original corporation was dissolved and reorganized as an LLC in January 2014, dropping the word "Services" from the name (it was a mouthful). We have been a GA specific structural repair facility since 1994. Majority is Beech, followed closely by Cessna, with less than 10% being other brands.

We now have 12 employees, a 25,000 sq ft hangar, and have 12 to 16 planes in process at any given time, and life is good. As an example, right now we have 4 gear up Bonanzas, 1 other landing incident Bonanza, 1 gear up 58 Baron, 2 T-34’s, 1 L-19 Bird Dog, 1 Sundowner, 2 Cessna 182’s, 1 Lancair/Columbia 400, 1 Cessna 177………all major repair except for the 400. The future is bright, and I would like to give thanks to the BeechTalk community for the many kind comments and referrals.

I will add……….There are many great structural repair shops out there. You know, and I know. I will always give you the best advice for your situation, and that includes recommending my competition when I know it is the best option for you. Please do not ever hesitate to call me. My favorite part of this business is helping people find the best solution to whatever situation they are dealing with. I enjoy spending time with people on the phone, email, and in person. We will arrive at the best solution for you, no matter if it involves my shop or a competitors.

I hope this does not violate the TOS here on BT, but until we get our website up, we do have a FaceBook page my wife started about 3 or 4 months ago. We showcase some of our projects with owner permission, from start to finish. We scrub the "" numbers. It has really been great for our customers and also the claims adjusters to follow the progress of these projects. I'm not a FaceBook user myself, I just look over Tina's shoulder, but I think it's a great way to showcase what we are doing. She is the woman behind a successful man!

If this violates the TOS, please delete. But know this; I will be buying the top banner very soon.

Del Lehmann
Mountain Airframe LLC
Mena Arkansas USA
479-four three seven- thirty three thirty three

Well written Del thanks for sharing your "story"! Success is earned one step at a time for most of us. Congratulations for persevering. Welcome to BT, belated... I've heard nothing but good about your work. Hope to visit your shop some day for fun, not need.

A Mena fly-in!!! Sign me up.

It's so pretty down there. It would be a perfect place for an October poker run. Thanks for hosting, Del!

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

I love the stories about self-made men! You have my respect, and I think I can speak for the BT community when I say that you are no troll, and never thought to be!

Del, can we see a photo of you with your blackberry?

Flip phone, he's a Real man.

Thanks for hosting the cards and bourbon extravaganza. Great idea Stu.

Flip phone, he's a Real man.

Thanks for hosting the cards and bourbon extravaganza. Great idea Stu.

Hey, I know that guy.

Great intro, Del. And I appreciate the fact that you have already built a solid reputation here on BT as a "go to" for knowledge on repairs. I wish you much success...and hope I never have to use you.

Great intro, and story. Best of luck.
Let me know if you want help on putting together a basic website. I am one among many here on BT that can do it.

Tim

Awesome story, Del! Thanks for sharing it!

I'd say "welcome out of lurking" but I've read many of your posts, so "welcome to the ranks of the 'introduced'!"

Congrats and best wishes with your business venture! And thanks for being a BT sponsor!

Doc

That was a Great Story Del You are a Man amongst Men! Very proud to have met you here on Beechtalk Del Hope to meet you in person someday

Sidney Wakeham

Me too.

Oh, and Del, if you want to picture my a/c on MAF's Facebook page, no need to scrub my tail number.

As far as I am concerned, having my aircraft associated with YOUR shop - and for that matter you - only adds value to the airframe!

For those of you who don't know, Del and his folks fabricated a new cowling for my Bonanza. As many of us do, I have some forward cracking and there was no practical way to repair it.

So, out with the old and in with the new. A small job by Del standards, the results were nothing short of spectacular.

Many thanks again, Del. I still have that smile you saw when I left your shop last year.

Vince, thanks!......you and everyone else; nobody wants to need us or even think of the possibility, especially the type services we offer. With that thought firmly rooted in my mind, I make a conscious effort to offer myself first as an unbiased tech support advisor for your situation, and then of course second....earn your business.

This post, and my first post in this thread, have taken much of my "self" for me to lay it all out there in the open. I really appreciate all of the kind replies. I'd like to meet every one of you at some point, but I fully understand, as Vince suggest, that it should not be a necessity but rather a curiosity when we meet.