Avionics News August 2018 - 59

a saying that June, July and August are
wonderful and the rest of the months
are good for sledding. We have a lot
of winter recreation. We have a lot of
base customers - there are about 100
aircraft based on the field.

got my license at 17. I am multiengine,
instrument rated and a commercial pilot
with about 2,700 hours. When I was flying charter, I flew a TBM 850 and think
that was as close to a fighter jet as I can
ever get.

What do you like best
about owning your
own shop?

What do you do when
you're not working?

I've always liked being my own boss.
The Lord blessed me with being a selfstarter, and I like the whole process of
interacting with pilots. I also flew Part
135 charter until last year, and my customers appreciate the fact that I fly and
that I can relate to them. Some shops
don't have rated pilots, and I find that
odd. When I'm evaluating customers'
needs, we still give them some sticker
shock, but I try to tailor their needs to
what they think they want, what they
need and what they can afford. It's an
education, and I think of myself as an
educator. They see things in aviation
magazines and think installing something is a one-day job when it may be a
one-week job.

What are your
future plans?

We lease space from 45 North
Aviation, and it has a busy maintenance facility; I do some troubleshooting for them. There are 10 of us in this
building, so I can always get an extra
set of hands since it's tough to find
help. We would probably consider hiring additional help in the near future,
as I don't see our business backing off
when the mandate is over. In fact, I
see good things for quality shops for
the next five to seven years and into
the foreseeable future.

When did you learn to fly?

My first airplane ride was when I was
6 months old. When I was 12 or 13, we
got a Luscombe and I soloed at 16 and

My big project right now is a frameoff restoration on a 1969 convertible
Corvette. I got the car from my daughter's father-in-law. It's a hands-on thing.
I can work wiring all day and then go
work on the car at night. It will take
another year, two years total, to get it
done. This car will stay in the family and
be driven. I'll work on the body all summer and then to the paint shop this fall.
I also scuba dive. I've been certified
for eight years, and I love diving. We
travel a couple of times each winter to
dive, and I've also done dives in Lake
Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay. In
the dead of summer, at 80 feet, the
water temperature is 50 degrees. My
wife and I have a Sea Ray boat; I snowmobile in the winter and play guitar for
our church.

Tell me about your family.
Pat and I have been married since
1979. We met at college at a taco party
for a friend's birthday. That night, I told
my roommate, "I'm going to marry that
girl," and a year later we were married.
She was a paralegal until last summer,
and now she does all our paperwork
and keeps me balanced.
We have two daughters and two
granddaughters. Our oldest daughter
is Heather who works in special education for the Ottawa School District. Our
daughter, Amanda, is a licensed pilot,
although not currently flying, and she is
in charge of well planning for a national
oil company. That means when a geologist picks a site to drill, she analyzes the
site and decides how the drilling com-

Mark Evans with his wife, Pat, and their
yellow Labrador, Rocco

pany will proceed to connection.
Both my daughters are married to
engineers. Heather has two daughters,
Autumn, who is 6, and Hazel, who is 3.
They are just precious.

What's the difference
between being a father
and being a grandfather?

I know now that the reason I had kids
was to have grandkids. It's another level
to be Pop-Pop and Gammy.

Any pets?

We have a rescue dog who is a yellow
Labrador, but he is white as snow. Rocco
is my boating buddy. We've had him
four years.

Any closing thoughts?

I love what I do thanks to a CFI
named Allan Hoffman who pointed me
in the right direction. I'm an A&P, too,
and I'd still be turning wrenches if he
hadn't suggested avionics as my career.
I've always been honored to be a member of the AEA. Because of our AEA sign
on the wall, customers know that we're
a member. I'm honored to have been
named 2007 Avionics Tech of the Year
for the Great Lakes Region by the FAA,
complete with a trophy; it was a great
honor for me. q
To learn more about Evans Avionics, visit
evansavionics.com.
avionics news

*

august

2018

59


http://www.evansavionics.com

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