City employee Andy Greenwood has received recognition for his 50 years as an aircraft mechanic and pilot.
Greenwood has been working with the city of Picayune for the past seven years as the manager of the Picayune Municipal Airport.
His love for aviation began as a child by building model airplanes. Upon graduation from high school, he joined the Civil Air Patrol in the early 1950s, which is an auxiliary of the United States Air Force, Greenwood said.
After completing an apprenticeship as an aircraft mechanic, he began working on securing flight time, eventually becoming a helicopter pilot for Chevron. Greenwood said he flew for that company for more than 27 years, before moving on to fly a helicopter for Hancock County Sheriff’s Department for 12 years.
While he doesn’t fly as much as he used to, he still flies unmanned drones and is working on an experimental light plane.
“The circle has been completed. I’m back into unmanned drones,” Greenwood said.
In March of 2011 Greenwood was awarded the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of working on aircraft without any Federal Aviation Administration violations.
Earlier this month, Greenwood received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of piloting aircraft without any FAA violations.
Greenwood said the awards also recognize his wife, who was instrumental in his achievement, he said.
Under his management, the airport is receiving some improvements. Recently the airport’s apron got a fresh coat of asphalt, and now Greenwood is seeking funding for two more projects.
The first is to revamp the airport’s Master Plan, while the second involves building a new helicopter taxiway.
Currently the taxiway brings helicopters in front of the airport’s fixed based operators, at times disrupting their operations. The plan is to build a new taxiway at the far side of the apron allowing the helicopters to taxi back to base away from the fixed based operators. Greenwood estimates the project will cost about $250,000 so he working to apply for a grant from the FAA, but it will involve a 5 percent match from the city.
As for the Master Plan, one was formed when the airport was built, but it needs to be updated to reflect what the airport has now, and what is planned for the future, Greenwood said. The cost of updating the Master Plan is expected to be less than $5,000, he said.