QUEST Team Feature

In their own words

CHRIS KLYNSTRA: Lead Assembly

Working as shop manager for Lake Clark Air in Alaska, I got to see — and repair — what the bush does to airplanes. We operated everything from Navajos and Otters to Stinsons and PA-12s and did plenty of work on other people's airplanes. Several times I've gone into the bush to salvage an airplane that wrecked where someone intended to land.
     Alaska showed me what the bush requires of airplanes mechanically. Mission flying in Indonesia showed me what they mean for people. We flew doctors, teachers, and all kinds of regular folks. Between flights — having lunch in someone's home or just talking about the weather — I got to know these people and see how they rely on air service.
     So when I heard that that Quest needed sheet metal mechanics, my wife and I headed out to Idaho. It's interesting to see how the mechanical and the personal come together here. I was half of a two man team that drove probably 90 percent of the rivets in the flying prototype. That's a lot of rivets but we knew this plane was going to make a difference. Now my job is to make sure everyone in assembly knows what work needs to be done next. The way I see it, I help move these airplanes out the door so they can go into the field and do the work they were designed for.