Pilots

Most pilots would enjoy having a mechanic like Paul Finefield — a guy who will listen to a pilot's view of a problem and not belittle him for his lack of mechanical knowledge; a mechanic who can stand behind his work and make sure that everything is fixed right; someone who can readily pass on advice regarding airplane operation and upkeep; and someone who will let the customer into the shop to participate in the maintenance of his or her airplane.

Finefield and his son, Jim, run Finefield Aviation — one of the finest Beechcraft facilities in the country, says the American Bonanza Society (ABS). The shop is located at the Lake in the Hills Airport near Chicago, Illinois, and services all airplanes, not just Brand B. On the weekends, the shop turns into a veritable adult day-care center as Finefield handholds owners through various mechanical problems and routine maintenance. "He's open and honest and can admit if he's made a mistake," said ABS service clinic inspector, Dick Pedersen. That's one of the reasons his shop is always booked months ahead, he added.

Tagging along behind the 68-year-old at the EAA International Fly-In and Convention at Oshkosh was more like being toted through a toy store by a 7-year-old. He checked out the warbirds, looked for parts bargains in the Fly Market, and watched almost every flyby. But most notable of all were Finefield's friends and/or customers who stopped us at every corner.

In his booming voice and matter-of-fact tone, Finefield says, "I'm doing something I've always wanted to do, and I'm having fun at it." The shop is doing very well, attested to by the fact that it's always full and that Finefield owns four airplanes. "I'm in business for myself," he says almost justifyingly.

Finefield's biggest dilemma these days is finding new mechanics — those with an attitude much like his own — able to back up their work and understand that pilots may know very little about the inner workings of their flying machines. For a mechanic just breaking into this business, the Finefield philosophy is to not think so much about yourself, but to think about how your work affects other people.

Finefield remains an active pilot and flies about 3 hours a day between performing maintenance test flights and flying one of his personal airplanes. "If a mechanic never flies an airplane, he may miss something," says Finefield. "When I fly an airplane, I often find something wrong that the customer never knew about."

David Pasahow, a customer of Finefield Aviation, describes Paul as "the de facto ringmaster for probably 50 or 60 pilots who fly out of [Lake in the Hills]. He is a constant promoter of general aviation; friend; adviser; and an all-around source of wisdom, enthusiasm, and perspective." When Pasahow was working toward his instrument rating, his airplane was grounded, thanks to a broken exhaust valve. "Paul simply handed me the keys to his 172 and said, 'go fly it and return it full of gas.'" Perhaps it is this sort of "can-do" attitude that has airplanes coming from all over the country to be worked on by Finefield. Good work at a fair price is the only formula Finefield has to explain the popularity of his shop.

"If you ever saw Paul's shop on a Saturday morning, it's kind of like a boys' club. He readily dispenses advice, and he even kept me from buying the wrong airplane," says Pasahow, who now flies a Cessna 205. You won't get run out of Finefield's shop because of some overzealous clause in an insurance policy — it's open to everybody. Even children of his customers know him well enough to refer to him as "Uncle Finefield."

Jim Finefield admires his father most for his thoroughness and attention to detail. "He has an uncanny skill for troubleshooting airplanes. He does all of the test flying and can come back from a flight with a list of seven problems that the owner never knew about," said Jim. "The mold was broken with him. He's a real character."

According to ABS's Pedersen, the younger Finefield will gracefully fill the big shoes his father is leaving him. "He's as much a part of that shop as his father."

The elder Finefield owns a North American T-28, a Stearman, a Cessna 172, and a kitbuilt Baby Ace. The T-28 was his most recent project and required an extensive restoration. He's currently working on a rebuild of a Beech T-34 for a customer.

What lies ahead for Finefield? Probably Florida. Finefield has a vacation home in Lake City, Florida, with all of the amenities a pilot/mechanic could ask for — a landing strip and a hangar. There he will likely retire but continue to tinker with airplanes — preferably antiques or those with round engines. You can bet, though, that a bunch of aviators back in Illinois will miss having him around that little shop at Lake in the Hills.