WEST MILFORD — It's been cold in Robert Menier's Newfoundland garage. After-dinner airplane fabrication has occasionally been out of the question.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Menier's retirement hobby is slightly more complex and expensive than most. Fabricating a light recreational airplane similar to a Piper Cub from plans is also risky, he admits.
"Sometimes it's a little chilly down there," said Menier. "I have a heater in there now, so that may help it out."
Menier is not a pilot. Still, he is especially qualified, said Don Provost, the treasurer and newsletter editor for Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 501.
"Bob Menier is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of the parts that go into the airframe of a corporate jet," he said. "[He knows] what can and must be done safely to keep them in good repair."
The claim is backed up by evidence, according to officials at the Federal Aviation Administration. Later this February, they will award the West Milford native with their Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award.
Created in 1993 to recognize lifetime achievements, the award has been given to fewer than 100 New Jersey residents. It was named for the mechanic who built the engine used by the Wright brothers in their historic powered flight. Eligibility requirements are lofty. They include 50 or more years of civil and military maintenance experience.
Menier's clock started in 1968 when he joined the United States Air Force. The 72-year-old's fascination with aircraft nonetheless began far earlier. As a child, he built and flew model aircraft with his father, a diesel mechanic and Navy veteran who went to Aviation High School in Queens, New York. When winter hit, they would trek out onto the ice of Mount Glen Lakes and launch their wound-rubber or gas-fueled aircraft.
"It's hard to find flat areas around here and stuff without trees, so we had to wait until the lakes froze," he said.
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Once he joined the U.S. Air Force, Menier dove into hands-on, in-flight and classroom education into aviation mechanics. He left active duty in 1972 and within two years had earned airframe and powerplant ratings on his federal aviation mechanic certificate. His career took him to various North Jersey aviation firms. He spent time at Saturn Airways, Chatham Aviation, Aviation Metals and JET Aviation before retiring from Dassault Falcon Jet at Teterboro Airport in 2017. His gamut went from light experimental aircraft to military airliners and spanned from mechanical to digital. For his garage-built plane, however, Menier is going back to the basics. No modern satellite-linked navigation screens will grace his cockpit.
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Menier is more concerned with the essentials.
He started his build by fabricating the plane's wooden ribs. He plans to later wrap them with a synthetic fabric more durable than traditional organic weaves. The plane's tubular steel alloy fuselage frame is next up. Rather than pay oversized shipping fees, Menier drove to Connecticut to self-deliver the tubes on the roof of his car. Welding will nonetheless have to wait. Menier is now getting accustomed to his new suitcase-sized welding unit. It has yet to touch any of the tubing meant for the plane. Menier knows his task is complicated, and he plans to be appropriately meticulous. For that reason, he has not set a timetable for its construction.
"It's just a hobby," he explained. "But it has to be done correctly."
Apart from tinkering in his garage, Menier spends time in his backyard garden and with his grandchildren. Though retired, Menier said he has no plans to leave West Milford with three children and nine grandchildren in the area. Menier and his wife Mary Ann have been married for 48 years. He is active in his local parish community and with Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 501. There, he lends his expertise to the Young Eagles programs designed to spur children with an interest in aviation.
"I've been blessed to learn from some truly great craftsman, not just technicians," Menier said. "There's a shortage of people going into the aviation field, and I'd like to do what I can to change that."
David Zimmer is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.