John Mayes

ACE Instructor

John Mayes
Professor of Aviation Maintenance Technology, Cecil Center South (ACE)

John Mayes is an aviation maintenance instructor today, but in 1982, his dream was to use his newly-acquired welding skills on the Alaska pipeline. His first goal was to get some experience in the Pennsylvania coal mines where his father and grandfather had worked. There was just one problem — one of the worst economic recessions of all time occurred that year and there were no jobs, forcing John to break with family tradition and make what he now sees as one of the best decisions he ever made. He joined the Navy.

Mayes learned how to ready S-3 Viking jets for flight. He excelled as an aviation mechanic on the deck of the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Finishing second in his class allowed him to choose his orders. It was 1984, and the only option at the time was Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville.

Two decades later, after working his way into P-3 cockpits as flight engineer, advancing to Chief Petty Officer over a large squadron, and flying post 9-11 defense missions in the Mediterranean, Mayes came back to where it all started. He served out a 22-year military career in the Reserves and began a brand new mission on the same Cecil Field property — teaching aviation maintenance technology at Florida Community College’s Cecil Center South (ACE).

The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University graduate gets a charge out of helping others learn what he lives and breathes and earn Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved certifications and degrees.

Mayes is an FAA-certified flight instructor and licensed pilot with about 6,000 hours of total flight time. He flew cargo planes worldwide and charter passenger jets for movie and sports crews, corporate travelers and tour groups. He was Senator Bob Dole’s pilot during the entire 1996 Presidential campaign. John was once stationed at NAS Key West and is quick to mention he’s a “big Jimmy Buffet fan.” Buffet happens to be a big fan of aviation. He used to hang out with the pilots based there.

Professor Mayes tells his students to never be intimidated because the fundamentals they are learning apply to all aircraft. A banner hanging in his classroom reminds them that an airplane, regardless of its size, is “A bunch of parts flying in formation.”

“Mr. Mayes’ dedication to the school, his work and especially his students is incredible,” said student Gary Jacobs, who is earning his associate in science degree in aviation maintenance management. “His persistence to ensure all students are learning is without a doubt the best I have ever seen in any instructor anywhere.”

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