{"id":4391,"date":"2017-02-03T16:28:35","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T22:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/?p=4391"},"modified":"2017-02-03T16:28:35","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T22:28:35","slug":"envoy-story-mechanic-raibel-manzano-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/2017\/02\/03\/envoy-story-mechanic-raibel-manzano-2\/","title":{"rendered":"My Envoy Story: Mechanic Raibel Manzano"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an Envoy Mechanic, Raibel Manzano says he enjoys working on the line at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) because \u201cevery day is something different.\u201d It\u2019s kind of like Forrest Gump\u2019s box of chocolates \u2013 if that box were an 82-thousand lb. aircraft.<\/p>\n

Actually, Raibel loves working on the line so much he says he wants to stay out in the field as long as he can. The 37-year-old mechanic from San Juan, Puerto Rico says it will be almost 10 more years until he will submit to a manager\u2019s job behind a computer.<\/a><\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t mean that Raibel shies away from responsibility. In fact, it\u2019s the exact opposite.<\/p>\n

For several years now, Raibel has been tasked with \u201ctraining the trainers\u201d in all matters of aircraft maintenance. At Envoy\u2019s newest maintenance base in Little Rock, Ark., he spent long hours and months instructing mechanics on maintenance of the Embraer 175 (E175).<\/p>\n

Not only was he doing the hands-on work, he filled out paperwork and structured daily duties as crew chief. It\u2019s a small price to pay to do what he loves most, teaching others what he\u2019s learned.<\/p>\n

Humble beginnings<\/h3>\n

\"IMG_MX_Raibel_Manzano\"<\/a>In high school, Raibel dreamed of fixing cars and other machines. He\u2019s always had a curiosity for how things work, and would take apart and try to fix electronics and other machines around his house.<\/p>\n

His first job, however, wasn\u2019t as a mechanic. He started out as an aircraft cabin cleaner for a company subcontracted by American Eagle (now Envoy) in San Juan.<\/p>\n

While on duty, he was noticed by a maintenance crew chief for his work ethic, and asked if Raibel wanted to help some of the mechanics working at the hangar. At first, he was asked to work on small tasks like performing paint touch-ups on aircraft interiors, and eventually graduated to assisting with tire changes and some heavy maintenance duties.<\/p>\n

In 2001, Raibel earned enough hours of experience to earn his A&P license to become an Aircraft Maintenance Technician. He worked for eight years in San Juan as mechanic, inspector and crew chief.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_MX_Raibel_Manzano-2\"<\/a>Eventually, Raibel relocated to DFW in 2010. With his wife and three children, he packed up and embarked on what would be a fruitful journey.<\/p>\n

Yet, at first, there was the inevitable language barrier he and his colleagues must break down, or, in Raibel\u2019s case, work around. He says that even though he had difficulty communicating in English, he found he could speak Mechanic with ease.<\/p>\n

After seven years at DFW, Raibel has found a niche of teacher and trainer. He\u2019s comfortable in the U.S. now and frequently ventures out on trips with his family.<\/p>\n

When asked about his hobbies, he said that he doesn\u2019t really have any because he does what he loves on the job. At home, he\u2019s happy to spend time with his wife and children.<\/p>\n

“It’s not just me…”<\/h3>\n

In the DFW hangar, where Raibel is stationed when he\u2019s not working on the line, an E175 is parked awaiting maintenance. Raibel mentions that he likes working on the new computerized aircrafts, but loved working on the ATRs and Short 360s the most.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_MX_Raibel_Manzano_jan18_17-2\"<\/a>\u201cI love the old-school planes, that\u2019s what I learned on,\u201d says Raibel. \u201cIf you can fix those, you can fix anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raibel would know, because he\u2019s run the gamut of aircraft maintenance, special training and contributes as an instructor. Still, he wouldn\u2019t want to be anywhere else but out in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say thanks to [Envoy] for giving me the opportunity and all this training,\u201d says Raibel as part of his final thoughts. \u201cThey made me who I am today. And also thanks to my coworkers and their teamwork. It\u2019s not just me, it\u2019s the company and everyone\u2019s teamwork, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an Envoy Mechanic, Raibel Manzano says he enjoys working on the line at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) because \u201cevery day is something different.\u201d It\u2019s kind of like Forrest Gump\u2019s box of chocolates \u2013 if that box were an 82-thousand lb. aircraft. Actually, Raibel loves working on the line so much he says he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":42330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[152,66,77,51,68,59,60,153,154],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4391"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}